


Magwitch

by Angstosaur



Series: The Fall-out of Canary Wharf [1]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Canary Wharf, Episode: s02e09 Something Borrowed, Hurt/Comfort, Illness, M/M, Romance, Weevils (Torchwood)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-07-15
Packaged: 2018-06-05 15:58:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 44
Words: 80,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6711607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angstosaur/pseuds/Angstosaur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the first Torchwood fanfiction I wrote. I have posted it elsewhere, but wanted to post an edited, revised, up-dated edition here. I suspect there may be readers here who haven't read it and it seems a nice place to post - especially for those of us who like to download completed fics to read at our leisure.</p><p>The title 'Magwitch' comes from the name of the escaped convict in Dickens' Great Expectations. A horrifying creature at first - he came out of the marshes to terrify young Pip. References to Miss Havisham's wedding will also crop up if you look carefully. </p><p>This story is set after Gwen's wedding and features the fall-out from events that day. At the start, Jack is nowhere to be found, Ianto is angry and Owen is up to his elbows in a weevil autopsy. A trip out to the Gower peninsula seems like a good diversion for Ianto, somewhere to clear his head and put some distance between him and Jack. Then it turns out that someone's been experimenting on weevils and the results could prove fatal for Ianto.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was Monday morning, the first day back at work after Gwen’s wedding. By mutual agreement nobody had come in on the day after the reception, having spent most of the night dealing with the aftermath. 

The autopsy area stunk – more than normal – a reek of dead fish, rotting seaweed and decomposing weevil. Owen’s painstakingly slow post-mortem exam was being watched from a distance by Ianto and Tosh. 

“Where was it found again?” asked Toshiko, through a tissue daintily clasped to her nose and mouth. 

“Down the coast – out past Swansea,” mumbled Owen, his accent more nasal than usual, muffled by the face mask he was wearing. 

“So, what’s going on then? I thought they didn’t travel far from the city.” 

“Maybe they took a tourist bus down to the Gower. A day trip to Mumbles?” mused Ianto, the thought of weevils at the seaside momentarily taking his mind off wondering where the hell moody Harkness had got to.

“Nope – this one didn’t get to make sand castles, the local cops found it sticking out of the mud of the salt marshes. Luckily the forensic pathologist that went to the scene used to work in Cardiff and figured out it was the sort of the thing that Torchwood deal with and had it shipped back to the local morgue for us to pick up.” Owen explained – he had been called up early that morning to collect the body and had been grumpier than usual ever since.

He was puzzled, the body on the slab had no obvious injuries, but had not died a natural death as far as he could tell. There were signs of inflammation around the throat and under its arms – from what he did know of weevil anatomy there were glandular tissues there that responded in a similar way to human immune systems. An infection maybe? There was no way he’d be opening up this carcass without taking quarantine precautions, just in case. 

Meanwhile, Owen took samples of body fluids for analysis and grinned up at Toshiko.

“How ‘bout you do the toxicology and DNA analysis, and I’ll do the microscopy?” 

“You mean – let me do the real science, while you peak down the lens of the microscope and mumble?”

“I’ll make the coffee shall I?” proffered Ianto, already on his way up the kitchen area, looking over towards Jack’s office and noting with dismay the lack of any indication of occupation. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was midday when they gathered together in the boardroom, not quite sure who should be taking the lead, none of them sitting at the head of the table. There was still no sign of Jack, despite a number of calls to him discretely made by Ianto. Owen and Tosh had earlier shared a silent smirk as they spotted Ianto slam down his mobile phone angrily, both of them quite aware of who he was trying to get in touch with, although they both agreed that the atmosphere could only get worse on his eventual return, even taking into account the stench of sea soaked weevil.

Ianto had set out a tray of coffees and sandwiches for lunch, grateful for the opportunity to do something useful.

“You’ll be happy to know that I’ve sealed up the body and put it to chill in the morgue for now Owen – it’s in drawer 8 labelled Magwitch.”

“Does that make you Pip?” asked Tosh, grinning cheekily as she delicately nibbled on the smoked salmon sandwich she knew Ianto had made just for her. 

“What?” demanded Owen, thoroughly confused and slightly pissed off, as always, by in jokes that he was on the outside of.

“Dickens - Great Expectations, Owen, and no Tosh, it doesn’t make me Pip.”

“OK – so back to our dead weevil, it had a disease of some sort, blood cells distorted, excess numbers of their equivalent to lymphocytes, so definitely an infection of some sort, although Tosh should have more on that.”

Tosh looked up from her lap top, a slight frown creasing her brow, exposed as she subconsciously brushed hair from her face. 

“This is weird – the toxicology didn’t show anything conclusive, slightly higher levels of compounds analogous to histamine and cytokine in humans-”

“Ties in with CBC results.”

“It’s the DNA analysis that isn’t right – I took the samples from Owen, used the PCR as normal to amplify the quantities-”

“Skip the technical details Tosh, I know it and you’re givin’ teaboy a headache, he’s having trouble enough concentrating as it is.”

Ianto looked up from his mug of coffee, about to object, but had to acknowledge to himself that Owen was right. He was distracted, and the object of his distraction was pissing him off more and more with each passing hour of its absence. It was one thing being angry at Jack, but when his fury began to wage war with his worry for Jack’s well being, he was getting one hell of a headache, as Owen had astutely spotted, although not due to being blinded by science as the doctor assumed. 

Tosh spared Ianto a sympathetic look, raised her eyebrows in a gesture that asked if it was OK for her to go on and at the almost imperceptible nod of his head she continued.

“There are three sets of genetic material present in the samples, regular weevil DNA, influenza RNA and something different. It would appear that the viral RNA has become incorporated within the weevil’s genetic material and become corrupted, maybe hybridising with dormant DNA from some form of pathogen from the weevil home planet, which means-”

“We can do fuck all about it just yet-” Owen cut in with a succinct summary of the situation. 

“What next then?”

“More work-ups on the strain of virus from Tosh and I guess I’ll have to get round to a proper exam of the body. “

Owen took a look at the sandwiches, wishing he could eat one, wondering if Ianto had made his favourites on purpose to goad him. A thought came to him and he suggested, as innocently as he could:

“Fancy a drive out to the country?” 

“What?”

“Well, me and Tosh are going to be busy the rest of the day, and if that weevil died of something nasty, someone needs to go out and check that the area where it was found has been secured properly. Can’t trust the local police y’know-” 

“OK.”

“What? No arguments? No excuses to wait for our illustrious leader to come sweeping in, coat flapping about his –”

“Nope, just give me the location, names of the local contacts and I’ll set off straight away.”

Owen was mildly taken aback by Ianto’s willingness to leave the Hub, never mind the city. It must have been one hell of a falling out. Mind you, even Owen thought Jack had behaved like a complete arsehole, but Ianto was a twat if he thought Jack could think monogamously never mind act it. However, if Ianto was happy to drive out to the other side of Swansea instead of him, that suited Owen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ianto walked towards the garage where he parked his car, there was no point taking the SUV to drive out to the coast where the body had been washed ashore and the others might need it, Jack might need it. Ianto slapped the side of his head in an attempt to dislodge the thoughts of Jack, only succeeding in aggravating the tension headache that continued to pester him. There was also no point in taking a trip down to the Gower peninsula in a suit – he’d stop off at home and get a change of clothes on the way there. 

Half an hour later, dressed in a soft, pale blue, plaid shirt, white tee shirt and dark jeans, with a decent pair of boots that a man could run in rather than slide around on, he set off with every intention of leaving Cardiff and everything to do with the city behind him as he headed west. 

Pulling out onto the M4 heading west towards Swansea and the Gower, he put the radio on – Red Dragon radio blared out, advertising local businesses with loud, harsh jingles that grated on nerves that had been frayed to their ends over the past few days. He switched it off, even though his thoughts would soon come tumbling back to the man that he really didn’t know if he loved or hated right now. Some distance would help. Only about 50 miles, an hour’s drive at this time of day – but far enough to keep him away from the Hub, just in case Jack did come in, he could see himself making Jack a coffee or some other stupid gesture that would just let the infuriating man think he’d been let off the hook again. 

That ridiculous game, whereby Jack hurt Ianto’s feelings, unintentionally maybe, but always thoughtlessly – and then Ianto made the first move to reconcile them, was driving him insane. If he wanted to maintain any semblance of self esteem he had to hold out just a little longer. It was bad enough that Owen treated their relationship as a joke, nothing but shagging. 

He still couldn’t figure out just what the hell Jack had been playing at on Saturday at Gwen’s wedding. Once his duties as 'wedding fairy' had been fulfilled, Jack had grabbed him by the wrist and virtually dragged him to a spare hotel room, that he’d ‘found’ the keys to. After some pretty rough love-making – no not making love, it had been nothing but a fuck if he was totally honest with himself – Ianto had passed out from sheer exhaustion. The next day he’d woken as light entered the room. He was still half dressed, sprawled face down on a hotel bed. Alone. The sheets half on the floor, on top of his crumpled jacket and trousers. The bastard hadn’t even bothered to tuck him in before leaving in the night.


	2. Chapter 2

It was two hours after Ianto had set off when Jack stormed through the cog entry to the hub. Well as much as he could storm whilst waiting for the cog wheel to slowly grind back, revealing him standing there with his coat wrapped round his legs threatening to trip him up. Owen glanced up from his computer monitor, trying hard not to smirk. Jack was making out nothing was amiss, whilst scanning the surrounding work stations and sniffing the air. 

“Yes, this is where you work. Nice of you to turn up.”

“Not now Owen,” Jack pointing a finger in his direction meaningfully, whilst not actually facing him, but turning his head from side to side, looking across the hub and frowning. 

“Lost something?” snarked Owen.

“Yep. Makes coffee. Wears a suit,” growled Jack.

“Acts like a doormat?” 

“Just what are you getting at, Owen?”

“Nothing at all, Jack, We'd been taking bets on how long he’d put up with that crap you were dishing out at the weekend – I lost, never thought he’d hang around ‘till Sunday.”

“I couldn’t give a damn what you think, Owen, so mind your own business.”

Owen suppressed a grin, knowing that a replay of that CCTV footage would allow him to make up for his loss, as he’d pretty much nailed Jack’s response word for word. 

“OK – so where the hell is everyone?”

“Well, Mrs Williams is in Spain on honeymoon, remember?” grinned Owen, relishing the scowl that he managed to provoke so easily. “Tosh is taking some samples across to Wiltshire – won’t be back ‘till tomorrow.”

“You’ve lost me – samples of what?” Jack frowned, wondering what he'd managed to miss. 

“While you've been AWOL, I took delivery of a dead weevil. It was dumped 50 miles west of here. Died of causes unknown. Looks like a mutated virus, weevil ‘flu, or something. Porton Down have the best guys at identifying DNA sequences from pathogens – it’ll save us some time, and if that weevil died of a mutant form of a virus we need to know sooner rather than later.”

“And Ianto?”

“Do you really care?” Owen drawled, daring Jack to rise to the bait. 

Jack just glared at Owen, refusing to play this game. What went on between him and Ianto was his business and he’d deal with it as soon as he caught up with him.

“Gone.” Owen paused to gauge Jack’s reaction, determined to make him sweat. Satisfied that he’d succeeded, yet again, in winding up the boss, he went on –“Well when I say gone, he’s taken a drive out to the north of the Gower peninsula – where the body was found in the marshes. When I mentioned going out to chat with the local cops, he seemed more than happy for any chance to get the fuck out of this place for the rest of the day.”

“Owen – just who made you boss round here? Since when did you go giving orders?"

“Wasn’t an order, just a request and seeing as he didn’t bother calling you up and asking for permission, I guess he must be growing a backbone. Maybe I’ll get him a ‘Welcome to the vertebrates’ card to celebrate.” 

Jack bit his lip, refusing to get into that argument with the doctor. Damn, how come Owen seemed to be on Ianto’s side all of a sudden? He must have seriously screwed up if that was happening. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ianto had called in at Swansea police station and, after an awful cup of instant coffee, he’d established that the area of Llanridian Marshes where the body had been found had been cordoned off and ‘unexploded bomb’ warning signs having been strategically placed at the access points. Locals and visitors were aware of the occasional hazard of bombs and shell casings turning up from when the area was a military firing range during the last world war. Ianto recalled a school trip where he and his friends had tossed lumps of rock into the mud and made loud booming noises to terrify the girls, after their teacher had told them of the perils of wandering off the main paths. Memories of happier times brought a smile to his face and he decided a trip out of the Hub hadn’t been such a bad idea after all. 

After checking in with Owen, to let him know that he was on his way out to the site to make sure it was secured sufficiently before returning to Cardiff, Ianto drove out on the coast road.

The weather had started out cloudy that day and gradually the skies had become darker, an oppressive atmosphere – storm clouds moving in across the Atlantic and up the Bristol Channel. Ianto spent a few hours in the vicinity beyond Penclawdd, driving along the edges of the abandoned cliffs, then took the single track road which skirted the seaward edge of the marsh. He parked up and took a stroll along the sea wall, taking his binoculars with him, it was a popular area for bird-watching, so his surveillance of the landscape wouldn’t raise any suspicions. Looking across the deserted salt marshes, the horizon blurring as the rain moved in, there was not even a wild pony in sight to Ianto’s disappointment. As a child he’d loved spending time out here, appreciating the open skies and wild landscape, watching the hardy ponies that lived wild amongst the sheep, grazing the green swards of salt marsh plants. 

He very much doubted if there would be anything left to see out there, the tides would have taken any evidence with them. According to the Swansea police, the body had been spotted by a man walking his dog who thought it was an escaped convict, catching sight of the boiler suit. Ianto smiled to himself at the naming of the weevil as Magwitch – even more appropriate now, not just a strange creature found in the marshes, but one thought to be a convict. It was just as well no-one had turned it over, or they’d have seen that its face was far from human. It was indeed fortunate that the forensics team had been led by someone who knew when to pass on a case to Torchwood. He could see that the winding creeks running across the landscape were beginning to fill with sea water, the tide was turning, and it was about time to head back, the road he was on was prone to becoming flooded at high tide. 

Ianto walked back to where he’d parked out of sight on a farm track, when he spotted a Transit van drive past and then pull up ahead of him into a lay-by. A white van, not especially suspicious, apart from the Cardiff City sticker in the back window. Out this way he’d expect locals to support Swansea, not Cardiff. Odd. Ianto skirted the hedge along the side of the track and peered out of the gaps in the hawthorn, taking a pair of binoculars out of his pocket to get a better view. He was startled to see two men dragging a heavy object from the back – a bulky shape. Of greater concern was the protective clothing – gloves and face masks. Odder still. 

Ianto slipped his mobile phone from his pocket and was disappointed to see that there was no signal. He had two choices, drive back to pick up a better signal and call Torchwood, and no doubt alert the men to his presence, or go on foot to find out more. He briefly considered the wisdom of doing this with no possibility of back-up. Should he stay put and wait? No, he could do this on his own. He’d show them he wasn’t a pathetic sap. Weapons? His gun was tucked into the belt of his jeans and he’d picked up a stun gun as well – he wasn’t comfortable with using live ammunition against humans, although he’d be happy to make exceptions for some, although Owen was now exempt on account of no longer being alive. 

Once the two men had crossed the road and began to head out on the causeway towards the sea, Ianto walked down the road to the van, which was apparently empty. He shivered as gusts of wind suddenly blew up across the estuary and a steady drizzle became more persistent, tasting salty on his lips. Ianto glanced into the driver's window, and then towards the figures disappearing from view. They were too preoccupied with their task to look back, their heads down to keep the rain out of their eyes, and were as oblivious to Ianto’s presence as he was to that of the third passenger who had slipped silently from the front seat of the van and was slowly walking round the back of the vehicle towards him, a glint of something metallic clasped in his hand. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack had decided not to call Ianto – if he needed some space, he should let him have it, hopefully it would put him in a more forgiving mood. He found himself sat on a bench looking out on the water in Mermaid Quay, unable to take any more jibes from Owen and really wishing he’d made the effort to get back earlier, before Ianto had headed out. Apparently he’d set off early afternoon and it was now growing dark – it shouldn’t have taken that long to drive out there, check out the area and drive back. A sudden splash of rain on his cheek alerted him to the fact that the weather had broken, a chill wind was whipping off the sea, and so he wrapped his coat more closely round him. He hoped that Ianto was back in his car and on his way back to Cardiff by now, and not moping around in the rain. 

Pushing himself off the bench and running back towards the tourist information entrance, he just managed to make it to shelter before the skies opened completely and the rain lashed down soaking the paving, which glistened as the street lights came on. A flare of lightning lit up the sky and moments later a loud rumble of thunder filled the air. 

It was then looking around the darkened, empty reception area that Jack gave in, he knew he would. He called Ianto. There was no answer. He was obviously still pissed off with him. Jack decided, despondently, that if Ianto wanted to keep up the cold shoulder, he deserved it.


	3. Chapter 3

A flash of incandescence illuminated the seawater seeping over the marshes and a crack of thunder rent the air asunder. An eerie gurgling noise emanated as bubbles of air were displaced from the mud, accompanied by the sound of heavy drops of rain spattering down on the mounds of vegetation not yet submerged by the incoming tide.

A pale hand clutched at a clump of sea samphire, clawing at the mud desperately. Ianto was vaguely aware that he had to drag himself out of the creek that was rapidly filling with seawater.

Another flash of lightning lit up the face of the creature next to him. Its large, ridged skull already semi-immersed in the mud. That sight stirred him into a greater semblance of consciousness. Shit. He had to get out of the marshes and quickly, but his limbs refused to co-operate, his arms flailing around trying to gain some solid leverage. In despair he let his head fall back into the soft mud.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack sighed as he wandered aimlessly about the hub. In his melancholy, he was remembering the image of Ianto as he’d last seen him: his head nestled into the hotel pillow, his naked legs sprawled out in more or less the same position they’d been in as he slipped from his lover’s body. He recalled with some shame how he’d just grabbed his pants and boots, pulled them on and then left the room like a thief in the dark. What on earth had possessed him to treat Ianto like that? He felt ashamed at how he’d behaved and mortified at how he’d taken out his physical frustration on Ianto.

Weddings – they always got to him. It starts with the wedding, then the babies, the schools, the colleges, the middle aged retirements, then rapidly downhill to deaths and funerals. As soon as anyone he grew close to got married, that was it, time just seemed to accelerate and take them away from him before he had the chance to grab hold of the moment. In Torchwood, people weren’t meant to get married. They worked underground and in the dark mostly, time fled past outside unnoticed and then more often than not, time cheated, snuck up and snuffed them out before their time. All except him that was. He tried it once – got married – just to see if that would work, if he could maybe, just maybe, slow down time, by anchoring to the traditions of the era.

Jack had sat down at his desk and found himself looking, once more, at the old photos in the box, just as he had when he’d returned to the hub early Sunday morning. His wedding, what a farce, just to fulfil the sensibilities of the time. So very Victorian in many ways – the bride in white lace, the reception in the church hall, the tiered wedding cake …

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

… images of a tiered wedding cake amongst glasses of retcon-laced champagne, guests with their faces flattened on the tables, confetti plastered to foreheads. There had been so many bloody digital cameras to check – captures of a rampaging Nostrovite to be carefully expunged from the recorded memories of a wedding not to be recalled by any but the bride, groom and the Torchwood 'wedding fairies'.

The images in his mind shifted woozily and refocused on a cobwebbed table... the lace greying and frayed, the cake no longer pristine, but mouldy and crumbling. Candles sputtered smoky flames as wax dribbled slowly onto the moth-eaten tablecloth. The bride looked up from her veil, her grey hair becoming darker as he looked more carefully, a sad smile stretching her lips as she whispered, a Welsh lilt making the words sound like verse:

“I’ll wait for him, he will come to me – just wait and see. He loves me you see…it was me that put his world out of kilter. It was me, not you…”

Ianto shivered and came briefly to his senses. Shit, he was seeing Gwen as Miss Havisham and he was lying next to a dead weevil in the mud – this was not good.

The cold rain had soaked through the outer layers of clothing he’d been wearing, its insidious drenching to the skin had allowed the last traces of warmth to be bled out to the chill air. Hypothermia was setting in he guessed, complete with hallucinations, or maybe just nightmares. No- the weevil was not a nightmare, it was real. Dead, but real. As was the water that was lapping about his knees. He really, really had to get out of this mud, before it sucked him under for good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gwen – what was it about her? Was it the temptation of the forbidden? Wanting what convention states you’re not permitted? Not quite, she’d made it clear that the feelings were mutual, the smouldering looks, the touches, the flirtatious laughter, possessive claims to his time, his space. As for that dance, at the damn wedding – he’d seen the pictures on the cameras as they’d wiped out all evidence of an extra terrestrial uninvited guest – the pictures painted a thousand words, all of them condemning him, his hand clasping hers over his heart, his arm tight about her waist, his lips close to hers. He’d also seen Ianto in the background, standing in as DJ, his expression guarded, yet the hurt clear to see in his eyes.

Perhaps he should drive over to Ianto’s home tonight, clear the air, let the younger man rail at him, shout at him and hit him even. No, he’d give him space, he owed him that much at least. After all he’d not been answering his phone all evening. Maybe he’d gone too far this time, although he really, really hoped he could make it up to him. Perhaps a good night’s sleep would put Ianto into a more receptive mood for his apologies. He had to put this right before Gwen got back from her honeymoon, for all their sakes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stumbling through the mud, his jeans dragging as he waded through the rank water that splashed about his legs, Ianto desperately looked about trying in vain to work out which way to head for the safety of the sea wall. Calming himself down, doing his best to remain upright, despite the lack of co-ordination that plagued every step he tried to make in the treacherous silt, Ianto stopped and looked down at the water working out which way it was coming from and then making a determined effort to head in the opposite direction.

Best case scenario, he could make it back to his car and collapse out of the rain, worst case scenario he’d drown on the mudflats. For now, he’d settle for getting back to the road at least. He fell down once more, out of breath, however deeply he tried to breathe, he seemed unable to take in enough air. Shit, definitely hypothermia. Crawling slowly he made gradual progress, although the sea was coming in at a faster rate than he was capable of maintaining, he couldn’t quite believe his surroundings were real. Everything was wet, the air, the ground, his hair, his clothes – panic set in as it occurred to him that perhaps he was already drowning.

Fortunately at that very moment, a burst of sheet lightning over the distant hills drew him out of his confusion long enough to see that he was close to the causeway that led up to the sea wall and the single track road beyond. With one last effort he stumbled along the firmer ground, there was shelter ahead if he could just make it to the low growing hawthorn trees. He was so very tired, if he could just rest up for a while, he realised that at least the shivering had stopped, although something in the back of his mind tried to alert him to the fact that that wasn’t necessarily a good sign. It didn’t take long before he collapsed for the final time, his pulse slowing as the cold claimed him.


	4. Chapter 4

“Tosh? Ianto? Anyone here?” Owen yelled out as he stomped into the Hub, throwing a wet umbrella into the sink of the autopsy bay.

“Owen? I’m up here," Tosh called back. "Glad to see you bright and early. I wasn’t sure if you got my message to meet at seven this morning." 

“I got the message and it’s not as if I’ve got anything to stay in bed for any more,” sighed Owen wistfully as he trudged up the stairs to join Tosh. “Where the hell has Ianto got to? If he’s gone off in a strop because of Captain - ”

“Owen, just shut up and listen to me. Did you listen to or read any of my other messages? I called you at least six times yesterday!” 

“I got the message that said not to open up the weevil under any circumstances. Seeing as you and Ianto were out of town, and Jack may as well have been, I decided to go home early. What did I miss? The potted highlights if you please.”

“Well, the team at the Centre for Novel and Dangerous Pathogens were most helpful. UNIT were right, they have more information secured than I’d managed to access by hacking into their systems. The analysis they carried out on our samples showed influenza viral codes, fragments of RNA, reverse transcriptase and recombinant DNA - ”

“So there’s been probably been transference of part of the weevil genome to the virus," Owen ruminated. "To be expected I s’pose. It’s how the bird ‘flu virus mutates after all- avian influenza hybridizing with human influenza strains - ”

“Not quite like that, not in this case.” Toshiko smiled shyly, loving it when she knew more than Owen, especially in the medical field. “Will you please listen to me – just look at these nucleotide sequences-” Toshiko excitedly pointed to one of the screens on her work station. She drew Owen's attention to the results of the DNA analysis. Genetic sequences scrolled across the screen:

ATTTGGGCCCCTGCTTATGCATTT…

Meaningless unless you understood the genetic code.

“Now, compare those with these for the standard marker genes for tetracycline resistance.” She highlighted the two long strands of letters and superimposed one on top of the other. The two separate codes matched perfectly over a large area of the sequenced DNA.

“What the hell?” Owen stared at the screen as if it had sprouted wings.

“This recombinant DNA isn’t the result of random mutations in the weevil population, Owen. It’s deliberate, these are marker genes used in transgenic research to identify successful transfer of genetic material.” Toshiko looked away from her monitor to see Owen’s jaw drop as the consequences of this dawned on him.

“That looks like some bastard’s been genetically engineering viruses and infecting weevils with them!” Owen was understandably incensed at the whole concept of using aliens in medical investigations, with good cause, after his recent experience with scientists involved in that area of research. He also had a certain empathy with weevils and this opened up yet another avenue of abuse for the species. 

Owen leapt to his feet and headed for his own work station. Toshiko hot on his heels, called out loudly after him:

“Yes - that’s what I thought. It’s the only conclusion that fits the evidence! Of course I couldn’t discuss that with the people in Wiltshire. They just think we’ve uncovered mutated pathogenic genomes. ” 

“Fuck!” shouted out Owen as he swept his hand across his desk. He managed to knock over a stack of CDs, which caused several old mugs, now used as pen pots, and a framed picture of a dark haired woman in a flying suit to go crashing to the floor.

“Guys!” appealed Jack, emerging from the entrance to his office. The escalating volume of Tosh and Owen’s discussion having finally woken him from an unplanned nap on his desk. “Can someone please explain what the hell is going on? And just why are the two of you in so damn early? It’s only just after seven.”

Owen and Tosh both turned towards Jack as he began to make his way down the stairs from his domain to join them.

“I don't suppose you've got Ianto with you? Please don't tell me you've got ‘im tied to your bed again. Because if you ‘ave, let him loose so he can do his bloody job. Tosh here needs some coffee.”

“No, I haven’t!” yelled Jack back at Owen angrily, although the thought 'chance would be a fine thing' crossed his mind. “Now please, tell me what the hell is going on. Tosh?”

Toshiko glanced at Owen, who held his hand out towards her inviting her to explain the situation to Jack.

“The DNA analysis of the weevil’s body fluids has identified sequences from what appear to be genetically engineered viruses. The presence of marker genes proves that these were assembled in a lab, not in nature. However, the viral genome itself is also odd. Some sequences match those of the H1N1 strain of influenza, but the others they couldn’t find matches for. It looks as if whoever has done this has also incorporated DNA from pathogens present in the weevils into endogenous viruses and then re-infected the weevils. Genetically engineered pathogens could be indicative of -”

“Germ warfare,” interjected Owen, trying to simplify matters for Jack. “I am so bloody glad that I didn’t open up that sucker-”

“OK, let’s see if I’ve got this right. Bear with me kids.” Jack sat down heavily at Gwen’s desk and held his hands up in an entreaty for the two scientists to allow him to work this through for himself. “A dead weevil turns up in the marshes out past Swansea, looks like it got dumped there. Lab tests show that it contains something like the ‘flu, but with a weevil twist – and then more tests show that it’s been engineered and that means the weevil’s been infected on purpose.”

“Yep, that sums it up more or less.”

“Maybe Martha-” Jack raised his eyebrows carefully, not wanting to insult Owen or Tosh, yet thinking it wouldn’t hurt to have someone around who was on his side for a change. 

Owen picked up on his train of thought though and cut him off at the pass.

“No Jack – she’s on some sort of sabbatical right now. We tried UNIT and it was their suggestion that we try the CNDP at Porton Down. They deal with all exposures of the military to potentially lethal infections.”

“There’s just one more thing,” Tosh looked up sheepishly, “The H1N1 strain identified just so happens to be the one responsible for the ‘flu pandemics in 1918 and 1919-”

“Oh shit, I remember that –” Jack visibly paled, past memories of the horrors of the so-called Spanish ‘flu came unbidden to his mind. An awful disease that claimed millions of lives, more than the dreadful war he’d survived beforehand. 

“It is the strain that many feel would be of most use to bioterrorists,” Tosh was speaking more quietly now. She no longer had to raise her voice to get their attention. “There was uproar when the sequence for its genome was published in the scientific community.” 

“Basically some fuckers ‘ave been messing about with designer diseases, with the potential to cause mass slaughter. Then they've dumped the body of an infected weevil in the mud, hoping the tides will dispose of the evidence.” 

“Thanks for that, Owen. I figured that out for myself.” Jack could feel a headache coming on, he really could do with a coffee. He glanced up towards the kitchen area, a feeling of unease stirring in his mind that wasn’t just a result of caffeine deprivation. 

“Owen – Ianto bagged that body and placed it in the morgue. Do you think he’s OK?” Tosh asked, her eyes widening as it suddenly occurred to her that their colleague may have come into contact with a potentially incurable disease.

“I handled it as well didn’t I?”

“Well yes, but with all due respect, Owen, you’re already dead.”

“Thanks a lot – I really needed reminding of that! I’m sure Ianto used standard procedures for handling the corpse. He should be fine. ”

“Then where is he?” Toshiko was becoming more agitated, “Jack, I don’t suppose Ianto came back here at all last night did he?” 

Up until this point Jack had been trying to get a handle on what was being said and yet again regretting allowing himself to be left out of the loop on this case. If only he’d come back in yesterday morning instead of ... He stopped that train of thought, there'd be time enough for recriminations later. Meanwhile, there was something very bad going on that needed dealing with first.

Looking directly at Toshiko, Jack shook his head slowly. No, Ianto hadn’t returned to the hub. Jack had just assumed he’d gone straight home to his flat and had been refusing to answer his calls. He should have realised that Ianto would not have been so petty. No matter how pissed off he was with Jack, he always adopted a totally professional front, if anything becoming even more proficient in the execution of his duties. Something that had been nagging away at the back of his mind eventually broke through with a heightened spike of dread.

“Owen, where the hell did you send Ianto? And why isn’t he back here yet? Where is he?”


	5. Chapter 5

Tosh had located the signal emitted from the tracker on Ianto’s car and pulled up an on screen map indicating its position. It was just outside the tiny hamlet of Wernffrwd, close to where the weevil Ianto had named Magwitch had been found. She frowned as her fingers tapped a couple of keys as if she really didn’t want to believe the facts displayed.

“It’s here,” she pointed at the intersecting lines on the map displayed on the screen, “but it doesn’t appear to have moved since 3:30 yesterday afternoon.”

“That doesn't sound good, " Jack sucked in a breath nervously. "Still no response to calls?”

“It’s a dead zone for mobile phone reception and he didn’t take any other comms with him.”

“Why not?” demanded Jack.

“For god’s sake, Jack, he was just meant to check the police hadn’t missed anything on the ground. Tosh was off to Porton Down and you weren’t around. To be honest, I didn’t want him pestering me while I was busy-”

“So you told him not to bother taking comms?”

“Um – yeah.”

“Well then, Doctor Harper, you’re coming with me to find him.”

“What about Tosh?”

“Tosh – I need you to liaise with Porton Down. We need to know more about what we’re dealing with here -”

“I know. We discussed the necessity of developing vaccines and antibodies –” her voice tailed off, not really wanting to talk further on the consequences of the virus being released either deliberately or accidentally.

“Great, you get onto that. We’ll be on comms if you need to get in touch.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With Jack behind the wheel, they made it as far as Swansea much faster than Ianto had the previous day, despite the persistent rain and spray from other traffic, which would have made any sane driver slow down. Conversation had been limited; Jack was worried and felt as if his conscience was sticking pins in an effigy of him. Owen didn’t even bother trying to talk to him; he was busy on his laptop communicating with Tosh about the results of her latest communication with Porton Down.

The SUV was far from inconspicuous as it tore down the narrow lanes on its way to the north coast of the Gower peninsula. Owen shook his head as Jack cut up yet another holidaymaker taking a leisurely drive. The family in a Volvo towing a caravan had not expected a large, black four wheel drive to virtually force them off the road.

“For fuck’s sake Jack – try not to kill anyone on the way!”

“I’m trying very hard not to. But, you’d better believe me, if Ianto isn’t OK, I may change my mind.”

Owen suppressed the smile that crept unbidden to his lips. For reasons he couldn’t quite fathom, he was actually pleased that Jack was affected like this, that he was genuinely worried. Perhaps things would work out OK after all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To begin with there was no sign of Ianto’s car on the single track road that ran alongside the seawall. Jack was frustrated by the time he’d got to the end of the road, turned around and then retraced their route slowly, getting Owen to look down each farm track and into every ditch.

“Hang on, Jack! There! That’s his car!”

The car was exactly where Ianto had left it, parked up to one side of a farm track, considerately allowing access to any farm vehicles. And also tucked well out of sight.

Jack threw the SUV into the side road, flung open his door and leapt out before Owen had the chance to think of an appropriate expletive to describe the way he drove..

Running towards the abandoned vehicle, Jack could see that the tyres were all flat, the headlights smashed in and the doors caved in.

“Oh shit.” Owen muttered as he caught up with Jack.

Both men shared a look as they drew their hand guns. Positioning themselves next to the front doors, at a signal from Jack, they wrenched open the doors, revealing that the inside was in as bad a state as the outside of the car. The upholstery had been slashed and the interior compartments torn open, as if whoever had done this was looking for something. The radio and CD player had been ripped out of the dashboard, but left in the passenger seat. Owen pressed the release for the lock on the boot and sighed with relief not to find a body crammed inside.

“IANTO!” screamed Jack, looking around desperately, no longer making any attempt to conceal his fears.

Looking at Owen, Jack pointed in one direction which the doctor took whilst he ran off towards a gate in the distance. He didn't get far before a call from Owen had him stop in his tracks.

“Jack – get back here, now!”

Owen was already scrambling down the side of a drainage ditch, obscured by a hawthorn hedge, that ran alongside the road. He’d spotted what looked like a sodden heap of clothes in the ditch and on closer inspection he saw Ianto. He was curled up tight in a foetal position.

As he crouched down next to his colleague, Owen grabbed hold of one of his hands hand and pressed his fingers against the pule point. Unable to detect a pulse in his wrist, he swore loudly and was reaching under his chin to feel for a pulse in the neck as Jack joined him.

“Thank fuck for that – still alive, but pulse is slow, bit thready.”

Owen crouched down and made some preliminary checks, feeling around the skull for head injuries and then the neck. Detecting nothing obvious that would be exacerbated by moving the young man, Owen signalled for Jack to help him. It took little prompting for him to jump down to join Owen and between them they managed to hoist Ianto up and out of the ditch, not an easy task with the slippery sides of the ditch and the additional weight of the soaking wet clothes.

“He’s bloody freezing. Must have been out in this all fucking night. We’ve got to get him out of the rain fast, out of these wet clothes and warm again.”

Jack automatically shed his great coat and was wrapping it around Ianto like a blanket. He couldn't help noticing that Ianto's lips had taken on a slight blue tinge.

Attempts to rouse Ianto failed, he responded to neither Jack’s entreaties for him to wake up, nor Owen’s less gentle slaps to the face, which only confirmed his suspicions.

"Shit - why does this have to happen when we're miles from civilisation?"

“If I drive the SUV with lights we can get to a hospital in Swansea-”

“I meant it when I said fast Jack, even if you drive like a bat out of hell, it won’t be fast enough. Seriously, we need to get him indoors soon. He’s severely hypothermic, his breathing is shallow, pulse weak, he’s unconscious-”

Jack tapped his earpiece, connecting with Tosh almost instantly.

“Tosh – we’ve found him, but we need to find somewhere to put up locally – ”

“I’m onto it Jack," there was a brief pause as Tosh quickly ran a search on her computer, "Llanrhidian, just a few miles west of you, a small hotel, sending the location information to you now. How is he?”

“Thanks Tosh. He's going to be OK." Jack bit his lip, not feeling as confident as he sounded.


	6. Chapter 6

The girl at the reception desk couldn’t quite believe what came out of the rain. In a flurry of noise and drama, three men came crashing through the entrance to the North Gower Hotel, leaving a trail of muddy puddles in their wake.

A rather bedraggled, but undeniably handsome, American, wearing a dark blue shirt with red braces, stood there snapping out what seemed to resemble orders more than requests. He was accompanied by a Londoner who claimed to be a doctor and between them was propped a young man, his head bowed, semi-conscious, wet through and bundled up in a huge coat that was obviously too big for him.

To be honest, they scared her witless, and what with all the police activity down the road yesterday, she didn’t know what to think. Crime scene vans from Swansea had been down by the marshes, there were rumours about a body and then all those signs warning people about unexploded bombs in Welsh and English. Smiling nervously, she decided it would be best to just hand over the keys to the suite they’d demanded and wait until they’d left the lobby before calling the police.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’ve got to be kidding, Jack, this is only the fuckin’ honeymoon suite!”

Jack rolled his eyes at the irony of the situation – it was the only suite and had obviously been prepared for the weekend in advance, a garland of white silk flowers adorned the doorway.

“Owen, just open the goddamn door.” Jack tightened his grip about Ianto’s waist as Owen loosened his hold so that he could get to the door and unlock it.

“OK, OK, I’ll let you carry the blushing bride over the threshold.” Owen could tell without looking that Jack was scowling at him.

Jack supported Ianto and then hauled him onto the edge of the bed, sparing a grimace for the lacy canopy over the headboard. As he started pulling off the wet boots and socks, Owen opened up his medical kit and fetched out a deceptively innocuous looking device for scanning physiological functions.

“Right, Jack, make the most of this, as I promise you will never, ever get to hear me say this again – strip him off as quick as you can.”

Jack tugged the shirt cuffs open, not caring about the buttons that were torn loose, and then tugged both t-shirt and long sleeved shirt off over Ianto’s head. Owen stopped Jack from laying him back down against the pillows, as he caught sight of an odd circular wound on Ianto’s back, almost hidden amongst a number of other marks, the cause of which he could guess far too easily.

“Apart from what I assume are your teeth marks,” Owen indicated the bruised marks that had broken the skin in a number of places, shaking his head in disgust, “You’re an animal Jack, I may have to consider giving him a rabies shot - anyway what d’you make of this on his back, is it new?”

Jack looked at the small, circular red mark that Owen was pointing out to him, too large for an insect bite, it looked more like a puncture wound of some sort.

“Never seen that before,” Jack frowned, partly at the memory of how he’d inflicted the aggressive looking bite marks. He plucked the shirts off the floor where he’d thrown them, and a quick inspection found holes in them corresponding to the position of the puncture wound on Ianto’s back. “It’s fresh, there’s a blood stain on the tee shirt.”

“Later – for now grab some towels and get him dry, try not to rub the skin, we need to avoid heat loss not increase it.”

Whilst Jack was in the bathroom collecting towels, Ianto started muttering under his breath…

“Weebles … marshes…”

“Hang on – it’s OK, Ianto. We got the weevil – remember. You called him Magwitch, he’s back at the Hub, not going anywhere.”

Owen tried to calm him down, whilst using a scanner to measure core body temperature. He frowned at the reading, 34°C, far too low. If the temperature had dropped any lower his condition would have become critically life threatening. Lifting his patient’s eyelids, one at a time, Owen was disturbed by the sluggish pupil response, they were slightly dilated, but it could have been worse.

“No...not Magwitch... ‘nother one... next to me,” Ianto’s eyes widened in panic and he rolled his head from side to side as if looking for an imaginary weevil on the bed with him.

Jack had returned with the towels and had taken one to dry Ianto’s chest and abdomen. As Ianto seemed to be getting more and more agitated, he pressed down harder and used the towel to gently pin him down on the bed, in an attempt to reduce the distress.

“Shush, it’s OK, you’re safe now.”

Owen held Ianto’s head still and tried to make eye contact.

“Ianto – don’t try to talk, you’re not making a whole lot of sense. Just nod if I’ve got this right. Did you see another weevil out there?”

As Owen let go of his head, Ianto nodded slowly, struggling to keep his eyes open as his expression implored the doctor to believe him.

“Next to me …in the mud… ” mumbled Ianto before drifting back into unconsciousness again. Owen used the scanner to check Ianto’s vitals and was relieved that the pulse seemed a little stronger now. He had also been shivering since recovering consciousness, which was a sure sign that his thermoregulatory mechanisms were kicking in again.

Meanwhile, Jack had moved down the bed and after removing the belt, was now struggling to peel off wet jeans, the soaked denim heavy and difficult to shift. He couldn’t help thinking that he’d never had so much trouble getting Ianto out of his clothing.

Once they’d got him undressed and had towelled him down, they rolled Ianto to one side so that they could pull the duvet over him, along with all the spare blankets that Jack had grabbed from the wardrobe. Tucking him in as best they could, having placed a soft towel under his head to absorb the water from his hair, they stopped to take stock of the situation, one that had apparently got totally out of their control. Leaning back against the headboard, Owen caught Jack’s eye as picked the wet shirts up from the floor and held them up to the light one at a time to inspect the strange holes.

“Some sort of dart maybe?”

“That’s what I was thinking. Tranquiliser perhaps?”

Owen wondered about what Ianto had seemed so keen to tell them.

“I s’pose he could have hallucinated another weevil, but if not, one of us needs to get out there and check it out.”

“You go, get in touch with the local police first. Get back up, I don’t want you going out there alone.”

“I didn’t think you cared, but perhaps I ought to stay here, keep an eye on –”

“No,” Jack stated in a tone that brooked no argument. “I’ll stay here and warm him up- after all you’ve got no circulation, no body heat to share.”

Jack sat on the edge of the bed and started to take off his own boots.

“Trust you to think of that way of warming him up! This isn’t an excuse to bed him, Jack. You’ve got to get his temperature back to normal carefully. If not we’re looking at possible cardiac arrest, shock, even coma –”

“I’ve dealt with hypothermia before, Owen. You wouldn’t believe how cold and wet it can get in a trench.” Jack shook his head, second time in two days he’d had memories of the First World War brought back to him. “Shared body heat is a recommended method for treating hypothermia and you know it. Go on, take the SUV, call the police in and check out the area where we found Ianto – and stay in touch.”

“If – no, when - he wakes up, make sure he drinks plenty of fluids. Get him to have something hot to drink. Maybe some soup. But no caffeine and no alcohol –”

“I know the drill, Owen – just go!”

Owen grabbed the keys from the bureau where they’d dropped them in the rush to get into the room and headed out, placing a “DO NOT DISTURB” sign over the handle as he gently closed the door.

As soon as Owen had left, Jack finished undressing and slipped under the covers next to Ianto, worried at the cold clammy feel of his bare skin. He knew what had to be done, warm up the body slowly, and concentrate on the head and torso, not the limbs. Nothing that may cause sweating as that would just increase heat loss. He curled around Ianto, pulling his trembling body close, lying across his chest carefully, trying to transfer body heat, without crushing him. He wrapped his legs around Ianto’s loosely, not wanting to stop the shivering, but needing the contact as much as Ianto needed the warmth. Jack sighed and pressed a gentle kiss to his lover’s forehead. Any other time the thought of getting Ianto out of his clothes and into bed in the middle of the day would be accompanied by a lascivious leer, but on this occasion he was worried sick.

 


	7. Chapter 7

Black and white images from the 1946 movie version of Great Expectations flickered through Ianto's mind. To begin with there were scenes of Estella and Pip’s doomed romance, a thwarted love story if ever there was one, to be replaced by the iconic scene of the cobweb bedecked wedding banquet of Miss Havisham. The mess bothered him and he despaired as he looked around the candlelit room trying to work out how he’d get it cleaned up before morning. Didn’t anyone know how to use a duster any more? The place was an obvious fire hazard. As for the bride, she’d have to be retconned … however, just as he was about to slip a white pill into her glass, she looked up from beneath her veil, her lips opening to reveal a smile, one with a gap between the front teeth. Gwen. She must have abandoned Rhys at the last minute and was waiting for Jack. The shock of this revelation was enough to rouse him sufficiently from the depths of his hypothermic lethargy to become aware of warm breath on the back of his neck.

As he drew closer to consciousness, it was to discover that he was wrapped in a cocoon of blankets and warm, naked limbs. The scent of something akin to exotic spices confirmed the identity of the naked body lying behind him. Jack’s strong arms wrapped around his waist, his chest pressed up close to Ianto’s back. Barely conscious of much beyond the bed, he felt content and pleasantly surprised; he really hadn’t expected Jack to stay all night with him after Gwen’s wedding. It vaguely occurred to him that he should have been too hot, but instead he felt chilled and on the verge of shivering.

“You stayed,” he mumbled drowsily, his dry throat making him sound hoarse. Jack could only just make out the words, and after a moment’s confusion he realised that Ianto must still be disorientated. He wasn’t quite sure how to respond, so he settled for tightening his grip in an affectionate hug.

“Yes, I’m here now.”

Opening his eyes slowly and focussing on the fittings of the room, Ianto slowly came to realise that although he was indeed in a hotel room, it was not the one he’d been dragged into on the night of Gwen and Rhys’ wedding. The past few days came back to him in a rush of jumbled memories, but the one that pushed its way belligerently to the foreground was the one where he’d woken alone, sore and still half dressed.

With a burst of energy fuelled by sheer anger, Ianto pulled out of Jack’s embrace and rolled over to face him. A wild swing in a confined space stood a good chance of hitting its target, so with nothing to lose, Ianto swung a punch at Jack, catching him sloppily on the side of the jaw.

“You bastard!”

“Ouch! I take it you’re feeling better?”

“No… w-well yes… h-hitting you has made me f-feel a b-bit b-better.” The exertion required to hit out at Jack had drained Ianto more than he expected and he collapsed onto his back, breathless and dizzy. He pulled the blankets around him, aware of a gnawing cold, that seemed to permeate all the way through to his very bones.

“Still cold?” enquired Jack, rubbing his face.

“Yep, f-f-freezing.” His teeth were chattering so hard now, there was no point denying it.

“Then come here you idiot so I can warm you up.” Jack reached out and pulled Ianto back into an embrace that almost threatened to suffocate him.

“OK, but you’re still a b-b-bastard.”

“I agree, a complete and total bastard.”

“Really?”

“Yep, wanna talk about it?”

“N-not yet. Least not until I can hit you harder than that.”

Jack was relieved that they could forestall that particular conversation for now, as he was still concerned about Ianto’s state of health and wanted to make that the priority for the time being.

“Owen said you should drink plenty of fluids – no coffee though.”

“Water please.”

For a fleeting moment, Jack considered getting a bottle of water from the minibar, until it struck him that a chilled drink wasn’t the best of ideas, so he went to the bathroom to fetch a glass of tap water.

He returned to the bed and helped Ianto to sit up, propping him against his chest as he leaned against the headboard. He gave the younger man the water and then pulled the blankets back up around them both, enclosing them in the heat.

“How are you doing now? Think you can you tell me what happened?” Jack asked softly, but still making it clear that he was expecting a report, rather than just enquiring after Ianto’s well being. Despite his immediate concerns, there was also the pressing matter of genetically modified viruses and dead weevils.

Ianto allowed himself to relax into the warmth that seemed to emanate from Jack’s body like a furnace. Clearing his throat, he closed his eyes and concentrated on sorting out the actual memories of the events of the previous day from the peculiar dreams and the annoying recollections of the weekend.

“For a start let me make a few things clear, before someone knocked me out, dumped me in the marshes and left me to drown, I was determined to have it out with you – all the crap from the wedding, but you weren’t available. Now, there seem to be issues to deal with that put your transgressions into perspective for the time being. But later – there are things I do need to say.”

Jack tried to work out what the resolute expression on Ianto’s face could mean – he looked as if whatever he had wanted to say was something he’d been rehearsing since the weekend, which couldn’t be good. He couldn’t help but be frightened that it was the type of conversation that could signal the end of whatever their relationship had been. Swallowing hard, he acknowledged Ianto’s request, and asked what he could remember, how he’d ended up in the state they’d found him in.

Ianto described the van he’d seen, including the registration number which he had committed to memory, and suggested that Jack call that information into Tosh, so that she could run checks on it. After a belated call back to the hub, where Jack apologised to Tosh for not having let her know what was going on, he found out to his surprise that Owen had already made a point of contacting her to apprise her of the current state of play.

Feeling yet again wrong-footed by the team doctor, he called Owen to let him know that Ianto had woken up and seemed coherent. He left out the part about Ianto hitting him and calling him a bastard, even though it would probably have convinced the doctor that Ianto was well on the road to recovery. Owen prompted him to order some hot soup from room service and suggested it would be a good idea if Jack made sure he got dressed before it was delivered to the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once Ianto had consumed a large bowl of soup, he felt much better, although he had found his co-ordination let him down, dribbles of soup on the bed sheets bearing testament to that. Jack had offered to feed him but an indignant look accompanied by a trademark eye roll had soon put paid to that idea. Before long the shivering had more or less abated and he was able to provide a reasonably full account of his encounter of the previous day.

“There were two men. Bulky, ex-military types from what I could see. You know the sort, muscle going to fat. I could see them as bouncers outside one of those clubs in town.”

Jack nodded, able to picture them clearly, muscle for hire, therefore not the masterminds of germ warfare research.

“They were carrying what looked like a body. It was heavy enough that it was slowing them down. They were heading down the causeway, and I could see that they were wearing face masks and gloves, disposable ones from what I could tell. I would have called for back up, but there was no signal – shit, I don't suppose you found my phone?”

“No – sorry, if it’s out on the marshes maybe Owen will find it.” Jack wasn’t hopeful, but at least their mobiles didn’t make direct contact with the Torchwood systems, but a proxy number in order to avoid detection.

“Anyway, I decided to check out the van, after all I figured it would be empty. I went to look inside the van – there was something there on the seat, damn it, something familiar. Damn, I can’t remember now, but I’m sure it was important, if only I could remember … a scrap of paper, a letter, memo, or something, but there was something familiar about it, the letter heading maybe."

Ianto knew there was something his memory was withholding, something vital and he really hated it when he couldn’t recall facts – it was one of his bloody strengths for fuck’s sake!

Jack picked up on the tension and frustration and knew that it wasn’t good for Ianto to get upset in such a way, a sudden increase in blood pressure whilst still recuperating from hypothermia could be dangerous. He attempted to soothe Ianto, pulling him back into his arms more securely and planting a kiss on the back of his head.

“Shush there, leave it for now, it’ll come back to you – give it time. So if the men from the van were heading out for the marshes, who or what knocked you out”

“All I remember is looking in the window and then feeling something sharp on my shoulder – felt like a wasp sting.” Ianto frowned and rubbed his face as something suddenly occurred to him. “Jack – what about my gun? I had it, I know I did. A stun gun as well … I suppose I lost those as well?” He sighed to himself, so much for proving to anyone that he was capable of handling himself out in the field.

“No – sorry, they must have taken them. Thank god they didn’t use the gun on you.” He gulped heavily, recalling only too vividly that damned warehouse and the scum that would have killed Ianto, had it not been for a jammed bullet.

“Well, that’s all I can remember. The next thing I knew it was dark and wet. There was a storm and I was up to my knees in mud, with a dead weevil for company. I could feel the mud sucking at my legs, thick, black, stinking mud-” he shuddered at the thought of what could have happened.

“Ah, that would account for the smell – you could probably do with a shower or a bath – ” Jack could see a look of mortification descend on Ianto’s face as he turned to look to him in horror. He tried to spare his feelings by providing a plausible alternative reason for getting cleaned up “-and it would warm you up.”

“And I suppose you need to help me to make sure I don’t keel over or anything else pathetic?”

“Is it really so hard to believe that I’m actually worried and want to make sure you’re OK?”

“To be absolutely honest with you Jack, after last weekend, yes.”


	8. Chapter 8

Slumping down to the floor, trying hard not to sulk at the missed opportunity, Jack leant back against the bathroom door, longing to go in, but also resigned to his promise to respect Ianto’s wishes. The younger man had gratefully taken him up on his offer to run the bath and had allowed Jack to help him get into the tub, but had then made it quite clear that he did not want any company, despite Jack’s efforts to casually point out that there was easily room enough for two.

“Jack?”

“Ianto? You OK in there?”

“Umm, can you give me a hand getting out of here please?”

Jack grinned, all was not lost, Ianto still wanted his help. He stood up quickly and stepped into the bathroom, the room steamy, warm and strongly scented of lavender – maybe he shouldn’t have poured the entire contents of the bath gel bottle into the bath as it was running.

As Jack helped to hoist Ianto from the tub, he noticed that the warmth of the bath water had brought out the marks on his back, causing them to stand out in greater contrast to unblemished skin surrounding them. He traced the angry looking indentations he had left there gently with his fingertips and then brushed his lips over them in apology.

“I’m so sorry Ianto, I didn’t mean to hurt you like that -”

“What’s done is done, Jack,” Ianto sighed, taking one of the large, white fluffy towels and wrapping it around his waist.

Meanwhile, Jack lingered over his back, drawn now to the small circular wound that seemed inflamed – the skin was puffy and looked infected.

“This isn’t looking good – you said you felt as if you’d been stung, was it here?” Jack gently prodded the inflamed area.

“Ouch! Yes, why? Apart from the fact it hurts?” Ianto flinched at the sharp pain that the touch provoked.

“I’ll get Owen to look at that when he gets back. Looks like you’ve had a reaction to something.” Jack frowned and tried hard to dispel thoughts of genetically engineered infections. “Bathrobe?”

“Yes, please.” Ianto looked up almost surprised. “Look Jack, I’m sorry about snapping earlier. It’s just been a crappy few days, that’s all, my nerves are on edge I guess-”

Jack could detect the softening of Ianto’s mood toward him and placed a finger to his lips shushing him. If nothing else he knew that he deserved the verbal slap he’d received before, and that it wasn’t Ianto that should be asking for forgiveness.

“Don’t apologise, but please let me try to make things right. Let me look after you now.” He held out the bathrobe so that Ianto could slide his arms into the sleeves. “You scared the crap outta me – when I saw you in that ditch, and Owen couldn’t find a pulse... if we’d been much later-”

“I know, I was pretty scared too.” A forced smile on Ianto’s lips showed that although he was trying to make light of it. He really hadn’t had chance to come to terms with almost dying.

Jack pulled him close and hugged him tight, unable to put into words why he’d been quite so affected by the thought of losing Ianto. Just as he thought he could risk leaning in for a kiss, without being knocked flat, the door to the suite rattled as Owen made as loud an entrance as possible. They broke apart, both shrugging.

“OK – whatever you’re doing in there, stop it now, because I bet it isn’t any good for my patient!” shouted Owen, intent on not walking in on anything he’d rather not witness.

Ianto walked out of the bathroom first, bundled up in the large bathrobe and looking considerably better than he had a few hours ago. He shook his head in dismay as Owen flung a wet jacket on the heap of damp clothing already collecting on the small sofa.

“Owen, if I was in worst state than I had been, I’d only have to blame you for negligence, leaving me in his hands whilst barely conscious. His medical expertise is somewhat limited - ”

“Yeah, I’d noticed. Mostly mouth to mouth. Let me say this though, if there are any more teeth marks on you, I’m getting him with a muzzle.”

Jack looked aghast as he observed the casual banter between the two men – something had definitely changed since Owen had died. He’d picked up on it on the way to the wedding and here it was again, they were actually ganging up on him. He’d have to deal with that as well, but later.

“Owen - talking of marks, that wound you noticed earlier, it looks infected, perhaps you could -”

“What the fuck have you done? Let me see – over here, Ianto, on the bed. I want to check out your pulse and temperature as well. You may look better, but it takes time for all the vitals to return to normal.”

As Ianto sat obediently on the edge of the bed, Owen carefully eased the top of the bath robe over his shoulders; it was evident that there was active inflammation, the area surrounding the puncture wound was red and swollen.

“I’ll give you an antibiotic jab and get a dressing on that – hang on.”

Owen caught Jack’s eye as he opened his medical kit on the bed out of sight of Ianto and shook his head slightly. He was no happier about that development than Jack was. He dutifully injected a dose of antibiotics into Ianto’s arm, although he knew full well that they’d be totally ineffective against a viral infection. After making a point of cleaning all the wounds on the man’s back, including the bite marks just to piss off Jack, he placed a neat white dressing on the inflamed puncture wound.

“There you go, good as new. Your pulse is a bit slow, so take it easy, and your temperature is up to 36°C now, closer to normal. However, you might want to make sure he’s eaten before you let him shag you again.” Ianto felt himself blushing involuntarily and refused to even look in Jack’s direction. Which was just as well, because he was giving Owen a look guaranteed to kill anyone that actually had a pulse.

“Oh and before I forget, tea boy, I bought you some pressies!”

Owen grinned as he handed over two large green carrier bags, each adorned with a tasteless logo of a red dragon driving a tractor.

Curious as to the contents of the bags, Ianto tipped them out onto the bed. A pair of bottlegreen corduroy jeans, a packet of black tee shirts and a soft, hand knitted lambswool sweater fell from one. The other bag contained a few pairs of thick socks and a pair of green Wellington boots.

“Umm, thank you?” muttered Ianto, slightly taken aback.

“Best I could get from the local country store. Look, I know they aren’t exactly up to your usual high standards of sartorial elegance, but you can hardly walk out that door naked. However much the boss would like it, chances are you’d get hypothermia again within minutes.”

Ianto then took in the fact that the damp, mud stained clothes on the sofa were his.

“The clothes you had on were pretty much ruined, especially after Jack ripped them off.”

Ianto could see through Owen’s feigned nonchalance and genuinely appreciated the efforts he had made on his behalf. He’d actually gone out of his way to do the sort of thing that Ianto did for everyone else on a regular basis with little or no thanks.

“Thank you Owen, that was very thoughtful.” Ianto smiled and after ripping open the sealed packet to release one of the tee shirts, he grabbed the cords and headed back towards the bathroom. “If you don’t mind I’ll get dressed in private.”

Owen flashed a smug grin at Jack and as soon as the door to the bathroom shut he presented Jack with the receipt, stuffing it into his open hand.

“You owe me, Harkness.”

“Thanks, Owen, I didn’t think -”

“I’ve noticed that about you – for someone so much more advanced that us mere 21st century folk, you seem to have evolved past the need to actually put your brain in gear.”

“So what else have you been up to apart from buying clothes? Any luck with weevil hunting?”

“Yes,” Owen continued in hushed tones, not wanting to let Ianto overhear, although he already suspected that he had supernatural senses. “There was a weevil – and if Ianto was out that far in those godforsaken marshes, in the dark, in a fuckin’ storm, then it’s a miracle he’s not as dead as the weevil.” His mood had darkened rapidly and, from the fierce expression on his face, not only had his opinion of Ianto gone up, but he also had even more reason to be angry with whoever was behind this whole rotten business.

“Tell me about the weevil.” Jack put on his ‘back to business’ face, his chin up, gaze steely.

“I insisted on a fully kitted up decontamination team to seal it up in a biohazard bag. It’s on ice and on its way back to Cardiff. I got blood samples and need to get them back to the Hub asap.”

Jack nodded in approval, before Owen continued.

“This weevil looked different to our Magwitch though-”

“How?”

“Disease was more advanced – more obvious physical symptoms. But not those I’d expect- ”

“Ianto told me that he was lying next to it when he came round.” Jack recalled what Ianto had said earlier.

“Fuck – I’ll need blood samples from him as well. Jack – ”

“No -” He caught up with Owen’s train of thought and he really didn’t like where it was headed.

“Jack, until we know whether or not he’s been infected, we’ve got to keep him isolated. You’re alright because you can’t die and I’m OK being dead already. Swansea Hospital possibly- ”

“No! I am not putting him in a quarantine ward,” Jack hissed. “Tell you what, you get a sample of his blood and then take the SUV back to the Hub. I’ll stay here with him, keep him isolated and see if there’s anything else to be discovered out on the marshes.”

“Yeah, and the prospect of keeping him here, with you, in the honeymoon suite for another day or so has absolutely nothing to do with your decision?” Owen wasn’t sure why he was feeling quite so pissed off with Jack, whether it was because he was worried about Ianto’s physical health or his emotional state of mind.

“How can you say that?” This was louder than Jack intended, but he was no longer thinking as objectively as he should have been.

“Erm – what’s going on?” A polite cough from the direction of the bathroom caused the two men to spin round to see Ianto standing in the doorway, dressed and looking healthier, but now decidedly suspicious.

“Owen – the weevil? You did find it didn’t you? I did see a weevil, I swear I did! I didn’t imagine it!”

“Yes, yes, calm down. Yes, I found your bloody weevil. I’ve got some samples from it and I’ll be taking them back to Tosh to analyse. Meanwhile Jack was just saying that it might be a good idea if you two stayed here for a bit.”

“Yes, Ianto. I think a more thorough investigation is called for. Your knowledge of the area will be useful. Also there may be more you haven’t remembered yet that’ll come back if you stay here a while longer.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Sir?”

An uncomfortable silence settled as Ianto looked from Owen to Jack with barely concealed contempt, they weren’t telling him everything, but he’d find out what they were hiding. He always did.

 


	9. Chapter 9

“Right then – shall I get on to Tosh, let her know what’s happenin’ and see if she can fix you two up with a hire car.”

“What’s wrong with my car?” Ianto asked, momentarily perplexed by Owen’s suggestion.

“Ah – so I take it that when you left it, it still had four fully inflated tyres, intact headlamps, functioning doors and the insides weren’t ripped to shreds?”

“Oh.” Why was it always his car that got wrecked?

“Yeah, like I said, I’ll get Tosh to sort out transport for you guys.”

“Thanks, Owen, is there anything else you need to do before you set off?” Jack rubbed his arm in an attempt to prompt Owen.

“Oh yes – Ianto, I’ll need a blood sample from you –”

“Why? Hypothermia isn’t something you need to run blood tests on.” 

“Well you were darted with something – I need to check what it was-”

“It would have been metabolised by now and out of my system. I may not be as highly qualified as you Owen, but I’m not stupid.” Ianto caught the exchange of looks between the other two men, trying their very best not to look guilty, and failing miserably. “Now will the two of you please just tell me what's going on?”

Owen stepped in quickly, before Jack came up with some elaborate lie and ended up digging an even deeper hole for them both.

“OK, the first weevil, Magwitch, was infected with a virus, something new, some sort of hybrid weevil-human ‘flu. Well I don’t know if your weevil had it as well, but the chances are pretty high. And … considering you spent the night with it…”

“Me and the weevil, Owen? It wasn’t like that!” Ianto glared at the doctor briefly before rolling his eyes in indignation.

“You know what I mean and don’t get snarky with me. Believe it or not, I am looking out for your best interests!” 

“So you just need to test my blood to see if I am infected with whatever killed the weevils – is that it?”

Owen looked to Jack, saw him tilt his chin up slightly, and despite his own preference for total, brutal honesty, he picked up on the silent instruction not to say any more.

“Yep, that’s it – so come on tea boy, let me take some blood my way, or I’ll get Cap’n Dracula here to bite your neck for me.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack watched Ianto toying with the food on his plate. He’d barely touched anything and it must have been at least twenty four hours since he’d eaten anything substantial. 

“Not hungry?”

“Nope, being lied to really takes the edge off my appetite.” Ianto pushed the plate away from him and lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. 

“Ianto-”

“No – don’t make it worse, I know when you’re keeping something from me. Usually I let it pass, but I think this concerns me and I have a right to know.”

“It’s not that easy.” Jack sat next to him, not knowing quite what to say that would get him back into Ianto’s good books.

“The truth? Being open and honest? Never is where you’re concerned.” Ianto continued to look upwards at the light fitting, unable to face Jack. 

Jack got up off the bed abruptly and sighed heavily. He really needed to clear the air with Ianto and the sooner the better. 

“I don’t suppose you fancy a walk? I need to get out this damn room – the décor is not making this any easier.” 

Jack flung his arms out – gesturing with disdain at the myriad floral and romantic decorative touches that were at serious conflict with his need to assert himself as a strong leader, looking out for his team. He wandered over to the window and although the grey skies didn’t look particularly enticing, the rain had abated and he could see out across the estuary. It also looked as though the tide was still out. 

“It’s not raining at the moment. What’s that saying in Wales? If you can see the horizon it’s going to rain and if you can’t it is raining?”

“Yep, that’s the standard one as used by many a tour guide.” Ianto had joined him at the window. “So rain is imminent – oh joy.”

“Come on – Owen got the waterproof jackets out of the SUV before he left, and if it gets too bad I’ll even let you have my coat.”

“OK, it’s a deal – if it rains you get the cagoule and I wear your coat.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a short walk down a lane from the hotel to the edges of the marshes and there were well trodden pathways that led out towards the sea. It was a different area from the one where the weevils had been dumped, so there were no warning signs, just a blackboard on which the names of various birds were chalked up.

“It’s a popular area for bird-watching,” Ianto explained as Jack gave the list a puzzled look. “That would be a list of bird species recently seen, not a menu, sir.” 

They walked on quietly for a while. Jack couldn’t help himself from taking a few sidelong glances at Ianto, approving Owen’s choice of outfit; the outdoorsy Ianto was looking fine, from the unkempt hair and slightly stubbly chin all the way down to the dark green boots that reached his knees. As they took a turning onto a footpath, he noticed Ianto’s stride lengthen, he seemed quite comfortable here by the coast.

“I used to come here a lot when I was younger. I used to love it here, the wide open landscapes and big skies. Not a soul in sight for miles.” Ianto turned, taking Jack by surprise with a hint of his childhood. 

“I grew up by the sea,” Jack muttered quietly.

“Really?” 

“Yep, I used to like looking out into the far distances across the ocean. That’s why I spend so much time on roofs, the only place in the city to see the sky properly. Helps me focus on the big picture…”

“The skies here at sunset can be incredible. The light on the water…”

“I can imagine.” 

“Jack, look over there.” Ianto whispered excitedly, clasping Jack’s shoulder as he pointed out a group of small, long-haired ponies grazing on the marshes. “Marsh ponies, a family group, there’s a foal there.”

“Beautiful.”

Jack wasn’t just looking at the ponies, but also at the smile on Ianto’s face. A glimpse of innocent boyish joy, not jaded by the experiences he’d lived through since he’d joined Torchwood. It was a smile that reached his eyes and stayed there.

Jack held out his hand tentatively, hoping that Ianto would take it and was pleased that he did. They walked along further onto the marshes, the wind blowing in from the sea becoming stronger the further they got from shelter.

“How are you doing?”

“I’ve been warmer, but this sweater isn’t bad – or were you actually asking how I feel?”

“Well now’s as good a time as any. How are you Ianto – really?”

Ianto stopped walking and let go of Jack’s hand. The two men turned to face one another, Ianto determined to get answers he could believe and Jack prepared to be as open as he could to redeem the situation. 

“Are you ready to tell me the truth?” challenged Ianto.

“Try me.” 

“OK. Let’s start with Saturday night. Where did you go? A roof somewhere?”

“Back to the Hub.”

“Why?”

“There were memories I had to deal with.” Jack thought back to the box of photos he’d rummaged through until he’d found that one formal picture taken so long ago. “My own wedding.”

“You’re married?” Ianto was surprised, but not sure why, there was so much he didn’t know about Jack.

“Was, past tense, she died back in the ‘fifties.” 

“I’m sorry.”

“Not as sorry I am – sorry I married her, sorry I had to lie to her, and sorry I had to fake my own death, leaving her to think she was a widow.”

“What made you do that?” Ianto was curious, he couldn’t believe Jack capable of such dishonourable actions without good reason. 

“Because she grew older and I didn’t.” Jack almost sounded ashamed of his words. “She knew nothing of Torchwood, nothing about the real me. The ironic thing is that before I met the Doctor, I thought life was too short for long term commitments and now I have all the time in the world I can’t have them.” 

Jack cursed his own carelessness as he saw Ianto flinch at the bitter sentiments he’d expressed. He hadn’t meant to hurt him again. At that moment, he realised that Ianto knew more about the real him than anyone else he’d ever been involved with and still stood by him. If only he could match the younger man’s courage, maybe there was hope for him yet. A chance not to be alone for a while. The wind whipped through the low vegetation around them and it occurred to him that the desolate, bleak landscape was helping him to bare his soul.

“I see. So you don’t deal well with weddings.” Ianto kept his disappointment masked, not wanting to break the mood in which Jack was prepared to be honest. “That explains why you didn’t make the effort to dress up or anything. I just thought you didn’t want Gwen to get married to Rhys.”

“She means a lot to me-”

“I know and that’s why you shouldn’t have behaved the way you did at her wedding.”

“Ianto, please trust me, you don't need to be jealous of Gwen-”

“I’m not.” Ianto frowned and locked eyes with Jack.

“What?”

That threw Jack; he’d been so sure that the root of the problem lay there. He'd assumed that Ianto was jealous of his relationship with Gwen.

“I am not jealous of Gwen. No, but I am pissed off by how you behave around her.”

“But I thought -”

“I’ve come to realise that inappropriate flirting comes with the territory when dating an intergalactic stud from the future.” Ianto couldn’t resist the temptation to roll his eyes at the incredulous expression on Jack’s face.

“Are you teasing me?”

“May I remind you that I have met one of your exes and Martha shared a few interesting stories.”

Jack shrugged, figuring that he’d best not to pursue that discussion any further, without admitting to a lot that he’d rather not at that moment. 

“Just imagine for one minute that you were in a relationship with Gwen. Do you think for one minute she’d let you as much as look at another person without breaking your balls?”

“I know, I know …”

“Anyway, it’s not that so much. It’s just I wish you’d have some consideration for Gwen. You’ve got to be fair to her – you cannot come onto her like you do, knowing the effect you have on anything with a pulse, not when she has the chance of happiness. A normal fucking relationship, with a home, a man that loves her, who’d do anything for her. Let that be enough for her. Don’t screw up her life, Jack, let her go.”

Jack felt suitably abashed when considering his actions in this light and also unaccountably surprised at Ianto’s selflessness in this. He had never thought about the repercussions of his behaviour towards Gwen, he’d been blinded by his attraction to the woman, and the pleasure he experienced when they sparked off one another. 

“Screw around with me by all means, I’ve nothing to lose. Look at me, Jack, you know I’d do anything for you, I’d kill for you. Hell, I’d die for you.” Ianto was pleading with him now, his expression earnest and imploring. 

“Don’t say that, Ianto. I don’t deserve loyalty like that-” 

“Tough shit, it isn’t your choice – it’s mine. Although if I could make one request, I would rather you didn’t humiliate me in public. Dancing with me whilst gazing, like a love sick school boy, at Gwen gave Owen enough ammunition against me to last longer than an average lifetime for a Torchwood employee.” 

“I really am sorry. I never thought and that was unforgivable.”

Ianto moved closer to him, his hands reaching out to take hold of Jack’s head, lifting it firmly so that their eyes met.

“And one more thing - don’t you ever use me again to take out your sexual frustration. You want Gwen and can’t have her – just have a wank, and be done with it.”

“What!?” 

“You heard. Apart from anything else, you’re no bloody fun when you use me for angry sex and then piss off without a word for two days. Anyway, as for being jealous of Gwen – why should I be? The man I get to shag is infinitely hotter than hers.” 

Jack grinned and pulled Ianto close.

“Forgive me?”

“I always do.”

Holding each other close, they looked out over the marshes as the sun played hide and seek behind the dark, forbidding clouds, the occasional ray breaking through and setting the water afire with red and gold sparkles. 

Pulling back so he could cup Ianto's face in one hand, Jack dipped his head down to take Ianto’s mouth in a kiss that had been put off for far too long, one they both desperately needed…


	10. Chapter 10

Ianto had spread out the waterproof jacket he’d been wearing onto one of the drier hummocks of ground for them to sit on. Jack had slipped his arm from one of the sleeves of his coat so he could wrap Ianto up inside it with him. Sharing warmth once more, they sat quietly for a while, looking at the ever-changing sky, the dark clouds growing larger, the eerily lit edges merging. The wind smelled strongly of the sea, the memory of which made Ianto shudder slightly.

“Cold?”

“No, just thinking about yesterday.”

“You’re safe now.”

Ianto nudged Jack and pointed towards the area where they’d found him earlier that day, it was hard to believe it was the same day. Jack was worried that he should be taking better care of him, but he’d found to his cost that wrapping Ianto in cotton wool was only likely to make the younger man think that Jack had no confidence in him.

“Out there, near Welshpool, is the lost village of Llanelen, buried in the woods. The story goes that a long time ago, there were some sailors stranded on the coast and they struggled to make their way to Llanelen for help. But, unfortunately, the sailors were carrying the plague, and it spread to the villagers - wiped out the entire population. The church in Llanrhidian has two plaques dedicated to the villagers of Llanelen and the legend is that if you touch them you get cursed. As kids we dared each other to touch them – maybe that’s where I went wrong. ”

Jack had the good grace to look sheepish as Ianto demonstrated his local knowledge. He knew Ianto well enough to see through his stories, they always had a point and there was always a reason behind them.

“You’re not cursed, Ianto, although I can see why you may think you are.”

Ianto turned to face him, biting his lower lip gently as if summoning the courage to ask the next question he had on his mind.

“Now, Jack, tell me about this weevil infection. What are keeping from me? You know, the stuff that you think that I’m better off not knowing. I overheard you and Owen discussing whether or not I should be quarantined – so I’m guessing it must be serious.”

Jack sighed and reached out an arm around Ianto’s shoulder, gently pulling him closer to his side.

“OK, but please hear me out. You’re right, as always. I have kept some facts from you, partly to spare you the worry and partly because I don’t know how to deal with them myself yet.”

Ianto nodded in acquiescence as Jack slowly recounted everything they knew so far about the genetically modified nature of the virus infection found in the weevil back in Cardiff and Tosh’s fears that whoever was behind the disease was involved in the development of biological weapons.

Jack could feel Ianto tensing up as he continued, and tightened his grip, not wanting to lose hold of him in any way.

“We don’t know for certain that the other weevil had the same disease and you may not have become infected.” Jack’s reassurances were as much for himself as they were for Ianto.

“But Tosh and Owen will be able to find out from the blood sample?”

Ianto looked out towards the sea, not really focusing on anything, letting this new information sink in. He couldn’t remember touching the weevil, but then again he had no idea what happened to him before he ended up in the marshes that evening. The van, there must have been something about it that he’d seen, something important.

“The van, Jack, there was something about that van –”

“You’re changing the subject-”

“Yep, and your co-operation here would help thanks. So those men that I saw, they wanted me out of the way because of something I saw – which must have been something in the van…”

“OK. Tell me about the van-”

“It was a white Ford Transit …and there was a Cardiff City sticker in the rear window.”

“You didn’t mention that before,” Jack said.

“Just remembered. I thought it odd being out here closer to Swansea... never mind, you wouldn’t understand.” Ianto shook his head, knowing full well that trying to explain the loyalty of football supporters to Jack was a lost cause.

“Right. Anything else you remember?”

“Yeah, there was a lot of mud on the sides of the van. I couldn’t help but notice that it looked very muddy for a van that had driven out from Cardiff. The M4 not being noted for its muddy stretches.”

“Well, I guess that depends on how urgently you need to get here from Cardiff.” Jack grimaced slightly, he was glad that Ianto hadn’t been with it enough to notice the state that the SUV had been in.

“Jack – I took pictures of it on my phone, I remember now! If we could find it-” Ianto’s eyes lit up, as another piece of memory slipped back into place.

“Tomorrow, we’ll go down there in the morning and look for it – I’ll get Tosh to triangulate the signal from it.”

Ianto could hear the forced optimism in Jack’s voice and could tell that he was worried.

“I might not have been infected you know.” Ianto shrugged, feigning nonchalance.

“You better not be – and if you are, I promise you we'll find a cure.”

They held tight to one another for mutual comfort, huddling close inside Jack’s coat as the wind whistled through the reeds and sedges about them. The skies darkened dramatically, as if in tune with the gloomy atmosphere that had descended over them. All of a sudden they felt hard pellets striking their heads and they were surrounded by hailstones pelting down onto the ground about them.

“Oh shit – hail. We’ve got to get out of this!” Ianto leapt to his feet and grabbed the waterproof off the ground, pulling it on, over his arms as quickly as he could.

“Back there...I saw a hut…” Jack put the collar up on his coat and slid his arm back in the sleeve now made accessible.

“Bird watchers’ hide – yep, let’s head for that!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Owen liked having the hub to himself, apart from Tosh that was. He felt almost like he was in charge. As he couldn’t drink anymore, Ianto’s coffee making talents went unmissed. He wasn't missing Jack’s moods either and he appreciated the calm that accompanied the absence of the emotional circus that was Gwen.

He could get on with his job without distractions, demands or any bloody meetings for that matter. Perfect.

Since his return to the Hub, he’d taken delivery of the new weevil that Tosh had decided to call Pip. She’d been busy extracting the genetic material from the samples he’d brought back from Llanrhidian, including Ianto’s. It had to go through several cycles on the PCR machine before she could run the electrophoresis tanks. This time they’d be looking for specific satellites sequences, repeating sections of DNA that were specific to the engineered DNA. If they turned up in the second weevil, or in Ianto for that matter, then that would pretty much confirm the presence of the same strain of virus they’d already detected in Magwitch.

“Tosh – how d’you fancy a hot date? You, me and a couple of dead weevils?”

“That would make me the only warm body present, so I think you’re transgressing the trades’ description act by referring to it as a ‘hot’ date. However, seeing as I’ve nothing else to do for the next hour or so, it sounds like an offer I can’t refuse.”

“Good call – even though it can’t harm me, I’m still gonna wear protective gear. I strongly suggest you do the same and then we’ll get going.”

Owen programmed the automated transfer mechanism to select the contents of drawer No.8 to be delivered to the autopsy bay. He looked down at the latched doors along the base of the walls. The weevil would turn up in the same compartment he’d shared with Gwen when Ianto’s cyber girlfriend was running amok. ‘ _Ah those were the days, what fun they’d had’_ , he thought cynically, even then they were all screwed up. Gwen fancied the pants off Jack, was living with her boyfriend, but seemed happy to snog his face off in a body drawer. And not long after they’d all shot Ianto’s long deceased girlfriend, he was shagging the boss. What the fuck was it that Jack had that made everyone want to be shagged by him? If he could bottle it and sell it he could make a bloody fortune.

These thoughts were soon brought to an end at the sight of Tosh waddling into the autopsy bay, her normally graceful movements restricted by the hazmat suit she’d put on, he couldn’t help but grin broadly at her and was rewarded by a shy smile in return. Once they were both ready, they worked together at setting up the extendable air lock that Tosh had developed. It utilised an alien barrier field across which they could maintain a pressure gradient that caused air to be drawn inwards, before being filtered several times and then discharged high above the water tower. Alien tech was bloody useful at times, he had to concede.

However, the post mortem procedure was more rudimentary. Although the Bekaran scanner would allow them to see the internal anatomy of the weevil, it was only really enough to tell them if the organs of Magwitch and Pip were in the same position as in every other dead weevil they’d examined. However, they needed to remove tissue samples to study the histopathology, how the disease actually affected tissues on a cellular basis. If the second weevil had the same virus it was likely to have more progressed symptoms and if they were going to have to treat any humans infected, it would help if they knew just what those symptoms were likely to be.

They worked through each weevil methodically. Owen making the incisions and Tosh dissecting out pieces of various organs. The tissue samples collected would provide material for histological examinations to be performed by Owen, whilst Tosh would carry out the biochemical analysis, looking at hormone levels, presence of antibodies and any other abnormal chemical compounds.

“OK. I’ve seen enough weevil guts for now. How about you?” Owen finished sealing the last weevil into a body bag and was about to send it back to the morgue.

“Yes, definitely. I need to get out of this suit apart from anything else.”

“Yeah – you look as if you’re melting in there. I’ll get to work on prepping samples for the microscope and leave some of each for you to run biochem work on. OK?”

“Thanks, Owen. I’ll get to work once I check the DNA results.”

As Owen depressurised the area they’d been working on, so that it was at equilibrium with the rest of the Hub, Tosh turned back to him, a look of concern on her face. She’d been so busy immersing herself in the scientific analysis of the case that she forgotten that they were also checking samples from a colleague and friend.

“Owen, what if Ianto has been infected?”

“We’ll toss a coin to find out who tells them. Winner tells Ianto and loser gets to break the news to Jack.”

Tosh sighed and headed for the locker room to get changed. It was going to be a long night, but there was no way she was stopping until she’d finished her analyses.

Owen watched her leave, her head down as if deep in thought. He knew she'd put in an all-nighter over this and he’d welcome the company. In the past he’d have whinged about working late, but seeing as he didn’t sleep any more, it offered more excitement than a night in watching repeats on TV. Not to mention not drinking beer and not eating pizza.

He idly speculated on what the caped crusader and the boy wonder were up to at that moment. He figured they'd be making good use of a comfy king-sized bed in a honeymoon suite. He shook his head, trying to shake out the images that came to mind. Although, if the tea boy had contracted an incurable strain of ‘flu, he couldn’t begrudge him some fun. He just hoped that Jack was treating him gently.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Owen’s imagination was far from reality, for Jack and Ianto were nowhere near a soft bed. They were sheltering from a violent hailstorm, in a small wooden shed that was being beaten by the hail and battered by strong gusts of wind. And far from being gentle, Jack had Ianto pushed up against the inside wall of a bird watchers’ shack, kissing him with an urgency prompted by fear. His hands burrowing under the layers of clothing to reach Ianto’s bare flesh, desperate to feel him against his body, needing to have him now, whilst he was still so alive, before the damn universe could do anything to take him away.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains explicit details for what happens next in the hide on the marshes.  
> If you don't feel comfortable reading explicit scenes, this chapter can be skipped without losing any plot.

Jack had Ianto pushed up against the inside wall of a bird watchers’ shack, kissing him with an urgency prompted by fear, his hands burrowing under the layers of clothing to reach Ianto’s bare flesh, desperate to feel him against his body, needing to have him now, whilst he was still so alive, before the damn universe could do anything to take him away. 

It wasn’t slow and gentle, after all the bird watchers’ hide was draughty and cold. Far too cold to get undressed properly, but their mutual lust didn’t care for comfort. They grabbed at one another hungrily, their hands fumbling in the thick layers of garments, their breathing becoming faster, sounds muffled by the din of the relentless hail hammering at the walls of their shelter. The waterproof cagoule had been ripped off and thrown without a second thought onto the wet floor, the woollen sweater far better for clinging onto, soft and warm. Scents of lavender and musk filled their nostrils, along with the damp, earthy smell from the sunken hut and the distinctive tang of the sea. The narrow window barely allowed any light into the interior of the hide and the dark skies only added to the gloom. But neither man needed light to find their way, their senses of taste, smell, and touch already fully heightened.

Cold trickles of icy water, from melting hailstones, dripped from curls of hair downwards across cheeks and onto lips that melded together, tongues seeking the heat of each others’ mouths. Much more than a kiss, the sealing of lips, drinking each other in, desperate to sink into one another completely.

Hands reached further into clothing, ripping past barriers that prevented contact. Under layers of wool and cotton to feel the warmth of a chest, fingers running through the light hair, hands spanning across broad muscular shoulders, grasping frantically. A hand dipped beneath the waist band of a loose fitting pair of cords reaching down to stroke the silken, soft skin of a hardening cock, a smile briefly breaking the kiss at the revelation of no underwear to impede access. Other hands pushed down to cup tight buttocks, a firm arse to clutch and pull forward, drawing bodies even closer together. Braces unclipped and trousers unzipped, tugged down over hips to allow flesh to touch, exposing bare skin to the cold draughts from the gaps in the wooden walls, bringing goosebumps to bare thighs. But the heat generated between the two men's aroused bodies made them oblivious to the chill air that swirled about them.

Jack manoeuvred Ianto towards the narrow window looking out into the storm, the hail striking the thin glass in waves, driven in by the strong winds blowing off the sea.

“Lean on the ledge”, a breathless instruction, followed without question. His body turned around to face out looking towards the sea, he lost all awareness of the weather as a hand grasped and then slid up and down his cock, a thumb rubbing slow circles in the moisture weeping from its tip. The other man’s arousal pressing against his arse, its intentions clear, its impatience tangible.

“Suck” … fingers held up to his mouth were sucked in greedily and liberally coated with saliva.

A knee insistently nudged thighs apart and a gentle pressure bent his body forward a little, arms braced on the creaking wooden ledge beneath the window. Hands traced their way down across hips and around to tease at his entrance. Fingers pressing in slowly, one at a time, an exquisite focus of pain – sharp, yet also comforting, a feeling of need transmitted through the hands that held, that grasped, that prepared him.

“Coat pocket-” another breathless command.

“Left hand side?”

“Yeah…”

Sachet ripped open with teeth and contents squeezed onto a hand that slicks his own cock first, before sliding two, then three fingers into the tight opening, stretching with care, but with urgency unhidden.

“Ready? Don’t want to hurt –”

“Now…” need overwhelming all else.

The sensation as the blunt tip of his lover’s cock breached the tight opening, then pushing forward, an inch at a time, stretching him, filling him. An arm about his waist holding him up, a hand on one of his hips pulling him back. Then stillness, breathing hard, catching breath, feeling heat surround aching cock, aching with want. Panting breaths barely audible above the sound of the storm outside, battering at the door as if demanding entry.

“Please…” a whispered plea obeyed instantly.

Moving in and out, slowly at first, then faster, building a rhythm. A powerful hold about him keeping him on his feet, leaning forward, but pushing back as he began to move his hips to meet the thrusts from behind, the pressure building from deep within to emanate outwards, the blood flowing faster, heartbeats hastening to compete with the pounding of pellets of ice hitting the roof bare inches from their heads. A hand moves down to grasp his neglected cock, stroking up and down its length, drawing forth a gasp of pleasure at first and then the steady pumping eliciting groans of delight, the skin so sensitive, the moment so close.

Dual sensations of the tightening of his lover’s flesh about his cock and his own imminent orgasm, flooding his senses, overcoming any concerns for gentleness as he lost the rhythm in his desperation for release. Movements becoming erratic and more forceful, thrusting harder, sinking deeper.

Their bodies became one, not knowing where one started and the other began, each feeling what the other could feel, inseparable at the moment of coming, feeling each other’s orgasm, both screaming out obscenities, blasphemies and declarations of love to compete with the cacophony of sound made by hail, rain and wind that battered their refuge.

Both panting and unable to form words, clutching to one another for support, the shelf barely holding the weight of both men. Forehead against shuddering back, holding tight and waiting for an uncertain period of time, he eventually slides out. Both immediately missing the lost physical connection. Trickles of sweat mingle with the remaining drips of melted hail about their faces, tasted as lips meet for soft, gentle kisses that designate this coupling as lovemaking, despite the rush and the stickiness on hands that brush against softening cocks.

Time had stood still, rushed forward and shot back all at once whilst they had made love. Neither needed to tell the other what they already knew. Their feelings for one another were spoken by the responses of their bodies in a language that did not tell lies or hide the truth.


	12. Chapter 12

“The rain has almost stopped – maybe we should try to get back to the hotel now.” Ianto leaned forward out of Jack’s embrace to look out of the steamed up window, having wiped away the condensation to allow him to see out. 

“Can you walk?” Jack wrapped his arms more tightly about Ianto’s waist.

“I can try, and if I can’t you can carry me, as you’ve only yourself to blame.”

“You weren’t complaining at the time – although then again maybe all that groaning ...”

“I thought that was you.” 

“OK, let’s go – and no, you can’t wear the coat, it’s not raining anymore.” 

“Damn, I love that coat,” Ianto shrugged as Jack helped him on with the jacket they’d retrieved from the floor, now smeared with mud, covered with footprints and decidedly worse for wear. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back at the hotel, the young, dark-haired receptionist was busy gossiping with a young constable who was leaning on the counter that separated them.

“I wish you’d been ‘ere Alec – the way he stood there yelling the odds, like he owned the bloody place.” 

“From what I hear, Bethan, you were lucky. This Torchwood mob is a right pain in the arse up in Cardiff. They could have asked for the whole bloody hotel to be put at their disposal and got away with it.”

“You’re kidding me?” 

“No shit. Their boss, Captain Harkness, up in Cardiff they’ve got pictures of him on the dartboard apparently!”

“I wouldn’t mind a picture of him, but I don’t think I’d be throwing darts at it mind…”

“Oh yeah, better lookin’ than me is he?” Alec exclaimed, trying to appear taller and broader to impress Bethan.

“Shh .. here he comes now!” Bethan put on her well-practised smile, the one she used for welcoming guests. Next to her, PC Alec Evans stood up and straightened his uniform jacket. 

“Good evening, sir. Constable Evans called by to see you while you were out. I was just keeping him company.”

Jack strode across the lobby of the hotel, leaving a bemused Ianto in his wake. He liked to stand back and watch the Harkness charm offensive in operation from a distance. 

“Cap’n Jack Harkness,” Jack reached out to shake the constable’s hand, a smile on his lips that looked almost predatory. “What have you got for me then?” 

Bethan couldn’t help but think that the American was looking rather smug, self-satisfied almost. A walk in the rain by the estuary didn’t usually have that effect on visitors, they normally returned looking windswept and in serious need of a double whisky. He looked like a man who’d not only already had a few, but had made sure they were vintage malts. 

“Drawn a blank on the registration number for the van I’m afraid – must’ve been fake plates on it. And there’s that many white Transit vans on the road…” The policeman shrugged, implying there was no point looking any further. 

“Damn.” Jack’s face had crumpled in a frown, that was not what he wanted to hear.

“We’ve had the Audi towed back to the main station back in Swansea for checking over, prints and the like. Doubt we’ll find much though. Most of the damage was done with knives and boots by the look of things. Probably local yobs, saw an abandoned car... you know the drill.”

“Then why didn’t they take the stereo?” Jack felt as if he was being side-lined and he didn’t like it. He knew damn well that Ianto’s car had not been randomly attacked by kids with nothing better to do. It had been a deliberate wrecking, to make sure the car wouldn’t get anywhere. 

“I really don’t know, sir. I’m just here to pass on the information to you and find out if there’s anything else you want us to do for you.” Alec was unimpressed with the great Captain Harkness and was more than a little put out to see that Bethan couldn’t take her eyes off him.

“Not for now, thank you. constable.” Jack all but dismissed the man, not happy that the van was apparently untraceable and not impressed with the apparent lack of co-operation. He’d see what Tosh could find out, he was sure she’d be more thorough. 

“Well if that’s all I’ll be off.” Alec put his hand out to attract the young woman’s attention, “See you soon, Bethan.”

“Right, bye for now, Alec.” 

Jack watched as the policeman left and then, just as he was about to head away from the desk, Bethan called him back.

“One minute, sir! I meant to tell you, a car from Avis rentals was dropped off while you were out – green Peugeot 407 – it’s out in the rear car park.”

As she proceeded to hand over the keys, the younger man stepped forward and reached out for them. Bethan got a better look of him this time; he looked considerably more attractive now he wasn’t half conscious. Cute even, with his cheeks flushed a pale pink, a coy smile on distinctly kissable lips and those twinkling blue eyes. She couldn’t help but smile at him in return, especially when he thanked her – in an accent from South Wales she noted with surprise. She’d assumed he’d be another Englishman, or even an American, like the men he’d arrived with. Bethan didn’t even realise that she hadn’t let go of the keys.

“Glad to see you’re feeling better now Mr …?” 

Before Ianto had the chance to tell her his name, Jack leaned forward over the counter and whispered:

“You can look but not touch, he’s mine.” 

Bethan’s eyes widened and her cheeks flushed red. She surrendered the keys immediately.

Jack took hold of Ianto’s hand to lead him back to their room before he could be admonished for being possessive in public. Despite the disappointing news from the local police, he couldn’t help but smile as he considered that not only had Ianto forgiven him, but that there was a king-sized bed waiting for them.

Neither of them noticed the two burly looking men in the hotel bar, each nursing a pint of bitter. One had his back to the lobby, but the other had been watching and listening carefully. 

“That him?”

“Yeah.”

They downed what was left of their beer and slipped out, waving goodbye to Bethan on their way.


	13. Chapter 13

Tosh looked at the screen and then at the print-out. No matter which way she viewed the information in front of her, the answers were the same. It hadn’t taken as long as she’d anticipated, it was only 2:25am, and she’d been expecting an all-nighter. She sighed with resignation; it always took longer to confirm a negative result than a positive one. If you can’t find something, that doesn’t mean it isn’t there, just that you have yet to locate it, whereas if something is present, there’s no denying it. There was no refuting the findings staring her in the face. 

“Owen, I’ve got the results –” Tosh called down to the figure hunched over a microscope. 

“Positive?” Owen winced as he made his way across to her desk. He could tell from Tosh’s tone of voice what she’d discovered. 

“Yes. And Owen, you know the swab from the puncture wound you asked me to test?” 

“Oh no – don’t tell me that proved positive as well.” Owen shook his head, not wanting it to be true. 

“Worse. The concentration of viral particles was much greater there. It can only mean one thing-”

“Shit – they infected him on purpose? Why the hell do that if they then dumped him in the marshes to drown? It makes no fuckin’ sense!”

“Owen, what if the darts, whatever, contained doses of tranquilliser combined with virus. Perhaps that was how they were inoculating the weevils with the disease?”

“I s’pose it’s not as if they could ask them to rollup their sleeves and look away …” 

“Have you got a coin to toss?” 

“Nah, don’t worry. I’ll call Jack. He can’t kill me.” Owen rubbed his face trying to figure out how best to break the bad news to their boss.

“What about your tests? Any progress?” 

“Yep, and it’s not looking good either. It wasn’t the virus that killed the weevils – not directly. It was their own immune systems – something like a cytokine storm.”

“A cytokine storm?” Tosh frowned and sat back at her work station, pulling up data on her computer, “A massive immune response – where the body’s defences turn against their own tissues and cells. Oh my god- that’s what happened with SARS and with those guys that were clinical volunteers for experimental monoclonal antibodies.”

“Yeah – like I said, not good. Cytokine storms can cause haemorrhaging of all internal mucous membranes. Bleeding in the lungs, stomach and intestines.”

“Is that what you found in the weevils?”

“Magwitch had fluid in his lungs – on the scanner it looked like he’d taken in sea water, so I’d assumed it was due to drowning. But, the fluid was tissue fluid and blood. There was a lot of internal bleeding, secondary infections, the works. Meanwhile, dear old Pip died from multiple organ failure, signs of attack by his own immune system. 

“And you’ve seen this in the tissue samples from the two weevils?”

“Yeah – pathology was quite advanced in both of them, and it ties in with my research yesterday on the H1N1 ‘flu virus. The reason the Spanish ‘flu killed so many was its effects on young people, whose immune systems were strong. Half the casualties were between twenty and forty, with a massively high mortality rate.”

“I don’t think I’m liking this, Owen,” Tosh shuddered as the implications dawned on her.

“That makes two us, Tosh. Whoever is engineering this fuckin’ virus is aiming to take out young adults–”

“So it’s looking more and more like an agent for biological warfare?” Tosh was beginning to see how an incurable version of a disease that had most impact on young, strong individuals could be used to target armed forces personnel. 

“Seems that way-” 

“How long do the symptoms take to develop?” Tosh was hesitant to ask, but they needed to know.

“I have no idea with this GM weevil ‘flu, but I’ve got details on the Spanish ‘flu pandemic.” 

Owen brought up the relevant document on his computer and read from it:

“People without symptoms could be stricken suddenly and within hours be too weak to walk. Many died the next day. Symptoms included a blue tint to the face and coughing up blood caused by severe obstruction of the lungs…”

“Oh my god, Ianto… why hasn’t he developed symptoms yet? He must have been infected over twenty-four hours ago!”

Owen launched himself at his own computer, searching through his history of viewed articles he’d been scanning earlier.

“Where is it? I saw something yesterday that made me wonder… now where the fuck did I see it? Here it is! It must have been the hypothermia. Apparently controlled deliberate hypothermia has been found to slow down the onset of a cytokine storm and reduce the chance of multi-organ failure. Ianto’s temperature fell to 34oC and was probably pretty low all last night, which would mean that the response would have been delayed, but not inevitable.” 

“We have to call Jack!”

“Shit – you’re right. We can’t risk Ianto’s condition deteriorating without access to medical care. There are drugs I can give him to suppress the immune response, give him a fighting chance. We need him back here now so I can start doing something to keep him alive.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack lay next to Ianto, luxuriating in the feeling of long, warm limbs draped across his own body. The bed was big enough for both men to sprawl without one of them falling out with an undignified crash to the floor. 

They’d been stuck in the bird watchers’ shelter for at least an hour until the storm let up enough for them to make it back to the hotel without getting completely drenched. As it was Jack had insisted on Ianto getting a hot shower to warm him up, before they both eventually got under the covers and curled up close. 

They’d raided the minibar fridge for food and the wrappers of various chocolate bars and crisps packets were scattered across the coverlet of their bed. Jack grinned to himself, knowing without doubt that Ianto must have been totally exhausted for him to go to sleep amongst that amount of mess. 

Jack had dozed lightly, keeping watch over Ianto to make sure he was alright, but now he was wide awake, wondering idly when would be a reasonable hour to wake Ianto up by nuzzling his way up his legs before taking him into his mouth and sucking him until he screamed for release. He shook his head in an attempt to put aside his lustful thoughts, he should let Ianto sleep all night and all morning if he needed to, he’d been through a rough time. He wasn’t entirely sure that Owen would approve of their afternoon activities as being in line with his instructions regarding aftercare for hypothermia. 

As he reached out carefully to stroke Ianto’s back, fingertips tracing from the nape of his neck, down between shoulder blades and along the ridges of his spine, he felt the younger man stir. 

“Jack? What time is it?” Ianto mumbled into the pillow.

“Umm… about three in the morning, you’ve been asleep since about nine I guess. Sorry?”

“Don’t be, I could hear you thinking anyway, long before you touched me.” 

Ianto turned over onto his back and stretched out, like a cat, arching up slightly from the mattress.

“Oh yeah, maybe you could, smartass – so tell me what was I thinking.” Jack trailed a finger across his chest and downwards, circling his navel and then moving lower down still, delighted at the squirming he could induce with just one fingertip.

“You were thinking of having sex with me without waking me up…”

“Close – but I fully intended for you to wake up.”

“Show me then … go on.” Ianto’s sleepy smile was too much for Jack to resist and without further prompting he slid under the covers, and had just grabbed hold of Ianto’s ankles as his phone rang.

Both men knew that a call at this hour could not possibly bode well. Ianto tensed as Jack scrambled out from under the duvet, managing to stretch out one arm to grab the phone from the night stand, whilst protectively wrapping the other about Ianto’s waist.

“Owen? … OK… shit …. Yes, I understand … now? … Of course….. yes, see you soon. And send Tosh home, she needs a break.” His voice was clipped as he tried to keep his emotions under control.

Jack put his phone to one side and shut his eyes tight, willing it to be a dream, a nightmare even, anything but reality. He looked up at Ianto and saw the questions in his face.

“Tell me, Jack. The truth please.”

“You’re infected with the virus. Not from the weevil it seems, but whatever you were shot with. Owen needs you back at the hub, he says there are drugs he can give you … drugs that might …”

“OK, we’d best make a move now then I guess.” Ianto looked crestfallen, too tired to successfully hide his feelings. 

“Come here.” Jack wrapped both arms tightly around Ianto and held him as close as possible, burying his head in Ianto’s neck, shutting his eyes tight to stem the tears that threatened to fall. 

“Jack – what about you? Are you sure that you can’t catch it from me?” Ianto stroked Jack’s hair, seeking reassurance that he’d be OK.

“No. Like I told you, 51st century immune system. Those humans that survive the next three thousand years had to develop immunity to a hell of a lot of bugs, from many worlds. Like most 21st century humans evolved from those resistant to the bubonic plague. Anyway, even if I was infected, it couldn’t kill me…” Jack stopped before he said it, but the thought already hung in the air between them. There was a strong probability that this disease would kill Ianto.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And just when you thought things couldn't get any worse...

“Hi there, Tosh. I got your text, saw it when I got up to go the loo, figured you’d still be up … I’m sorry I can’t hear you, sweetheart. Please say that again. What is it? Slow down, you’re not making any sense!”

“What’s up gorgeous? You can tell Jack from me that he can piss off he wants you to come back early.”

“Shut up, Rhys, it’s not Jack, it’s Tosh – and for the record, I’ve never called Jack sweetheart!” Gwen scowled at her new husband and slapped him on the arm to make sure the message sunk in. 

“Tosh, slow down please. Rhys is up now. No, no, it’s fine. Look, all I’m getting is weevils, disease and marshes. It still doesn’t make sense…”

Gwen gesticulated wildly at Rhys for a pen and paper and was soon busy jotting down details, prompting Tosh at intervals for extra information to help her get a better picture of what had been going on in her absence. 

“Oh my god! And there the hell was Jack? That bloody man – just wait ‘till I see him! So they’re on their way back from the Gower now. OK – I’m coming back today. Don’t argue, and don’t you dare feel guilty, Tosh. You sound knackered. I bet you’ve been working nonstop all bloody day. Look now, you just get some sleep please… Don’t worry, I’ll take care of Jack. See you later, love.” 

Rhys tilted his head to one side and frowned, trying his very best not to clench his fists. 

“OK then, tell me what the bloody hell he’s got up to now.”

“It’s complicated, Rhys…”

“I am not fucking stupid – now come on, tell me what the hell’s going on, because that just sounded to me like you are getting ready to dump me on our honeymoon and go rushing back to Cardiff to the side of Captain bloody Harkness!”

“It’s Ianto…”

“What? But –”

“He’s in trouble, Rhys. Something awful has happened. Tosh is falling apart, she said that her and Owen have been working around the clock and I want to go back to help, to do whatever I can.”

“Hang on – so not Jack?”

“No – not Jack.” Gwen reached out to cup her hands behind Rhys’ head, drawing him close enough to kiss his forehead. “You idiot Rhys Williams, I love you from the top of your head to the tips of your toes and I need you, I need you by my side. Got it?”

“So I suppose that means I’d better phone the airline and get us on an earlier flight.”

Gwen smiled at him fondly, thinking that although he may not be as devastatingly handsome as Jack, but he was a damn sight more bloody reliable. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was still dark as they made their way to the car park at the back of the hotel, and it was only by checking number plates that they managed to locate the hire car. Jack opened the passenger door for Ianto and tucked him in place with a blanket taken from their room, unable to mask his concern. 

“Try to sleep please, you’re exhausted. I promise not to drive too fast.”

“What have I said about making promises you can’t keep?” Ianto raised his eyebrows at Jack.

“OK. I promise not to break speed limits-”

“Jack-”

“How about I just drive?” Jack shrugged in resignation to the fact that there was no way he was abiding by traffic laws if they didn’t suit him. He also regretted the decision to let Owen take the SUV as he got into the driver’s seat of the family car, wishing he had something faster at his disposal. 

The gravel crunched beneath the tyres of the Peugeot as it pulled out of the car park and onto the main road. The sound awoke Bethan – who got up and looked out of her bedroom window to see who was leaving at this unearthly hour. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After about half an hour, they’d made it along the winding country roads onto the M4. Ianto had fallen asleep, as Jack hoped he would. There was little traffic on the roads at this time of night and this section of the motorway had no lights, so the road was dark and empty. 

As he drove past the junction for Port Talbot, Jack noticed some headlights in the distance behind him, gaining fast, it looked like someone was in more of a hurry than he was. Before long the vehicle had caught up with the Peugeot, but instead of overtaking, as Jack had expected, they sat on his tail. He pressed the accelerator down harder, increasing the distance between them and was relieved to see the other vehicle drop back. 

However, his relief was short lived as the vehicle then drew up alongside the hire car, and then cut in front sharply, causing Jack to slam on the brakes. The sudden deceleration startled Ianto into consciousness, as he was flung forward and felt the seat belt tighten across his chest. 

“What the fuck?”

“We’ve got company!” growled Jack between clenched teeth. 

Ianto gulped as he looked at the back of a van that was weaving from lane to lane in front of them, preventing Jack from overtaking it. 

The van was a mud-spattered, white Ford Transit, with a Cardiff City sticker in the rear window.

“Oh shit – it’s the van, Jack! It’s that bloody van!” Ianto pointed at it with incredulity.

“No kiddin’. Looks like they’ve come back to finish the job!” 

The Peugeot careered back and forward across the tarmac, as Jack desperately tried to get past the van that was determined to block their route. 

“The Pharm!!” yelled out Ianto, “That’s what I saw in the van. A security pass with the same logo as The Pharm. It was on the dashboard!”

“Are you sure?” Jack ground out the words between teeth firmly clenched together.

Ianto clung onto the seat for dear life as the Peugeot continued to swing violently from side to side.

“Yes!”

“Damn, I thought we’d closed those bastards down!” If Jack had been angry before, his temper was now reaching boiling point. 

The van moved across to the right briefly, leaving a gap just big enough to squeeze the car through. Jack took a chance and put his foot to the floor, accelerating rapidly – but just as he drew parallel to the Transit van, it moved back to the left hand side of the road, slamming into the side of the car, forcing it onto the hard shoulder. 

Ianto’s head was thrown against the passenger door window, the sound of the impact along with a yelp of pain momentarily distracted Jack, who turned quickly to check that he was alright.

Then the van smashed into them once more with renewed force, this time pushing them right off the road and onto a steep, wooded bank. There was little time to react, but Jack tried his best, braking hard and trying frantically to manoeuvre around tree trunks. 

His efforts were in vain as, with a sickening crunch, the front of the car buckled in as it collided with a large oak tree. The windscreen shattered, adding the sound of breaking glass to the squeal of twisted metal and the crack of splintering wood. Inside the car the air bags inflated explosively on impact. That was the last thing Jack was aware of as the darkness claimed him. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack came round suddenly, with a gasp for breath and a painful crick in his neck. All about him were scattered chunks of broken glass, in his lap, on his coat and in his hair. He realised that his head was cushioned by an airbag and a quick glance to his left confirmed that the passenger airbag had also inflated, but that was little relief, as he sat up quickly and looked around –

“Ianto?”

“IANTO!!”


	15. Chapter 15

“IANTO!!”

Jack shoved the air bag out of his way and he put his shoulder to the door. The hinges had been compacted in the crash, but by sheer force of will he pushed it outwards. Half falling out of the car he scrambled to his feet and raced around to the passenger side. The door was open, but there was no sign of Ianto. Not in the car and not on the ground nearby. 

It was still dark, not quite dawn, so Jack took the torch from his pocket, his hands shaking, causing the beam to shudder as it traversed the mounds of dead leaves and broken twigs on the floor of the wood. Broken glass glittered amongst muddy puddles, pieces of metal lay twisted and torn in all directions, but there was absolutely no sign of Ianto anywhere. 

Perhaps he’d wandered off? Looking back in the car, Jack’s torchlight showed that the side window had shattered into jagged shards, some of which lay on the ground, others inside the car. The blanket that had he’d carefully wrapped around Ianto had been partly dragged out of the car onto the ground and trampled into the mud. He picked it up, there was a dark stain on it that was sticky to the touch. Blood. 

Jack dropped the torch and pressed his hand to his mouth, he felt physically sick, as if he’d been punched in the stomach. He’d promised Ianto he’d be safe. But they’d taken him. Those bastards had snatched Ianto from him. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Jack? Where the hell have you got to? … WHAT?!!”

Owen’s mouth fell open as Jack yelled at him down the phone. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He didn’t want to believe it, the implications were too awful to contemplate. What if Ianto was injured? What would happen if they didn’t find him soon to give him the medication he needed? What if those bastards had already killed him? 

“I’ll get a fix on your phone signal, Jack. I’ll be with you as quick as I can. You said near Port Talbot – should take me about half an hour, forty minutes tops… and for fuck’s sake don’t do anything stupid.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time Owen reached Jack, he’d managed to inflict even more damage to the hire car and bloodied his knuckles in the process. He had rarely felt so damned helpless, stuck in the middle of nowhere, with a wrecked car and the knowledge that Ianto was not only infected with a deadly disease, but was probably also injured and could now be miles away, in the hands of murderous bastards. 

Owen could tell from a distance that Jack was in a foul mood. He wasn’t in a particularly good mood himself. Jack was sitting on the ground, leaning against the twisted wreckage of a green Peugeot 407, clutching a pale blue, mud-stained blanket to his chest. As their eyes met, Owen recognised the look on Jack’s face as the one that stated in no uncertain terms that he wanted to kill someone. Not just shoot them. No, he wanted to kill someone slowly and painfully. 

“What took you so damn long?”

“Excuse me – but it’s not my bloody fault, so drop the attitude. There’s fuck all point hanging about here brooding and arguing. Let’s get back to the Hub where we can find where the fuck they took him.” 

“What if they’ve killed him?” Jack put into words the thought that had been plaguing him.

“If they wanted him dead, they could have just killed him here and left the body – RTA as cause of death.” Owen sighed; he’d thought this over on the way, although there was little comfort to be had from the fact that whoever had Ianto wanted him alive. “Chances are he’s not dead, but I hate to think what they want him for.”

As Jack got up from the ground, still holding the blanket tight, Owen caught sight of his hands. The bleeding, bruised knuckles clearly indicating how he’d spent the time whilst waiting. His thoughts had obviously been along similar lines to those of Owen.

“You want me to treat those, or is the pain helping?”

“No … and not really … thanks though.” Jack was grateful that Owen understood and wouldn’t press the matter.

Looking about him, Owen took in the scene of devastation wrought by an out of control car.

“Come on; let’s get the fuck out of here. And before you suggest it, there’s no way in hell that I’m letting you drive!” He pointed meaningfully at the front of the car that was wrapped about the trunk of a tree.

They walked back through the trees towards the hard shoulder where Owen had parked the SUV, its blue lights flashing. They stopped to look at a set of tyre tracks that crossed over the deep imprints made by Jack in the Peugeot as he’d left the road.

“The Pharm – it’s them. It’s what Ianto saw in the van – a security pass with the same logo on. It came back to him just before they crashed into us.”

Owen spun round fast, glaring at Jack as if he’d been hit.

“What? Copley’s bunch?” 

The mention of the organisation that had been responsible for his own death made Owen tense up. For a brief moment Jack could have sworn his eyes became completely dark, an inky blackness that reflected no light. 

“Owen?” The change in his features scared Jack and he froze to the spot.

“Those fucking bastards. After what we saw, this is just the type of sick shit they’d be involved with.” 

“Owen, Copley’s dead. After he …” Jack was hesitant to discuss what had happened that night at The Pharm, when they’d gone in to rescue Martha and Copley had refused to surrender, choosing to shoot Owen instead. 

“You mean when he killed me?”

“Yes. I shot him – between the eyes, he’s dead.” 

“Well, maybe someone else is running the show now. Let’s get the hell out of here. We’ve got unfinished business to deal with.” Owen was grim-faced, now their enemy had a name, one he had every reason to hate with a vengeance, he was more determined than ever. 

An unspoken agreement was reached there and then that they’d make these bastards pay for what they had done.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Owen had sent a text to Tosh before he’d gone to collect Jack, telling her to be in early and that he’d leave details for her in the hub.

She arrived in at seven to find the place deserted and it was only when she settled at her workstation to find a series of post-it notes stuck onto her monitor, that she managed to work out what had actually happened.

The first one simply said:

GONE TO FETCH JACK – HE’S HAD AN ACCIDENT

Then another with the additional information:

WHITE VAN FORCED THEM OFF M4 INTO WOODS NEAR PORT TALBOT, LOOK IT UP!!

Her heart was already in her mouth before she got to the final note:

THE BASTARDS TOOK IANTO!

“No!” she exclaimed, momentarily unable to react. This passed quickly as she switched into the focused, methodical mode she knew was needed to help Ianto.

She tore the post-its off the edge of the monitor as she logged onto the network. She had managed to pull up the video footage and images from the Highways Agency CCTV cameras along the M4 speedily, they were available for public access after all.

Checking back to the time that Jack and Ianto had left Llanrhidian she was able to track the movements of both the Peugeot and the van. The white Transit van had joined the M4 at the same junction as they had, just outside Swansea, suggesting that they’d been followed from the hotel. Jack would not want be happy about that. 

Tosh was easily able to detect the point at which the van continued on its journey, it was the only vehicle on the road at the time. She monitored its progression along the M4 eastwards until it reached junction 38, where it left to join the A48, which had no CCTV. 

She cursed softly under her breath, frustrated at having lost it after so short a distance. Then a thought occurred to her and she checked along the M4 heading back to the west and was pleased to see her hunch pay off, the van had rejoined the M4 at junction 41 and then stayed on the motorway until entering the service station at junction 47, the Swansea exit. As it refuelled, Tosh hacked into the Moto Services cameras on the forecourt to achieve higher resolution images of the van and of the two men in the front. A few more taps on her keyboard brought up the inside of the pay kiosk as the driver paid for fuel. 

“Got you!” Tosh glared with unconcealed hatred at the image frozen on her screen, the face of the man who’d kidnapped Ianto.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tosh didn’t have to wait long before Jack and Owen came back, one look at the bleak expressions on their faces was enough to see they were ready to kill and maim. She smiled grimly, well that made three of them.

Jack stood behind her, leaning heavily on her chair. An exchanged look being all they needed to share sympathy – both knowing that the best thing they could do for Ianto now was to do their job and to do it well. Tosh showed him the images she’d captured of the van as it joined the M4 approximately ten minutes after they had.

“You were followed, Jack. Someone must have tipped them off.”

“Someone in that damn village. What is it with the bloody countryside …?” muttered Owen.

“Later, Owen. I intend to find out, trust me, they’re gonna regret it.” Jack spoke quietly but the implicit threat was unmistakable. 

“I managed to track them on CCTV up to the service station near Swansea. I’ve got pictures of the men and of the van.” Tosh brought the images up on her monitor.

“I want those circulating.”

“It’s done.” Tosh had already passed on the images to the police in Swansea with instructions to apprehend at any opportunity and then to call Torchwood. Jack nodded in approval, more than glad to have the resourcefulness of his team working on this.

“They left the services at 7:34 this morning. Took the A4240 –”

“Back towards the Gower!” Jack could hardly believe it. “OK, where did it go next? Come on, Tosh, where next?”

“I don’t know, Jack. The only CCTV I can get from here on is of such poor quality, and satellite images are useless, there are just too many white vans out there…”

“So you’re telling me that it just disappeared?” Jack all but yelled at Tosh.

“Don’t you bloody dare shout at her, Jack Harkness!”

They had been so focused on following the movements of the white van that not one of them had heard Gwen and Rhys descend on the invisible lift. But there was no way they couldn’t be aware of the return of Gwen Cooper as she shouted across the floor of the hub.

“What the hell are you doing back?” Jack growled.

"Believe it or not, I'm here to help. So don't be such an ungrateful bastard."


	16. Chapter 16

“Hold up, Gwen-” 

Owen tried to alert Gwen to the fact that it wasn’t a good move to antagonise Jack, but behind her Rhys was shaking his head. As far as he was concerned it was best to let them have it out between them, no need for innocent bystanders to get injured in the process.

“Where’s Ianto? How is he?” Gwen demanded as she looked around the Hub, 

“We don’t know – I don’t know!” bellowed Jack. He really wasn’t in the mood for a showdown with Gwen.

“But Tosh sent me a message. I called her back and she said that Ianto was sick.” 

Gwen was confused, had she completely misunderstood what Tosh had told her? 

“Gwen, since we talked earlier there have been developments - ” Tosh tried to intervene, but Jack was already storming across to where Gwen stood defiantly. 

“The bastards who did this followed us last night. They forced our car off the damn road and they took Ianto!” He almost spat out the last words with fury. By now he was standing well within her personal space, staring at her with a look that no one would have dared to challenge. No one but Gwen.

“You let them take him?” 

Gwen’s accusation was the final straw.

“No! I did not let them take him! I was unconscious. Maybe even dead, for all I know. When I woke up, he was gone!” Jack was shaking with anger and his helplessness was all too visible in his features. His eyes glistening with tears he dared not shed. 

“I’m sorry, Jack, I’m really sorry…” Gwen said more softly, seeing that the man was close to breaking point. She tentatively reached out a hand to comfort him, but the grip of his hand about her wrist made it clear that he was not able to accept her attempts at consolation.

“Rhys love – do you think you could find the kettle? I think we could all do with something to drink.” Gwen inadvertently slipped into the mode she would have once used when visiting bereaved partners or family members after dreadful accidents. 

“Yes love …” Rhys followed her gaze in the direction of the small kitchen area and willingly accepted the opportunity to do something useful.

“Jack, can we talk in your office please? Privately?” She glanced up towards his domain, making sure that the tone of her voice hit the pitch that she knew from experience he could never so no to.  
Owen and Tosh shared a look of sceptical disbelief and then decided to make a strategic retreat, disappearing into the autopsy bay on the pretext of checking on the results of weevil post mortems. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack entered his office and shut the door behind Gwen as she followed him in. She tried once more to comfort him, opening her arms to offer a hug, but Jack stepped back evading her attempts to placate him.

“Just a hug, Jack, nothing more. After all I am a married woman now.” Gwen raised her eyebrows at him, whilst holding up her left hand to draw attention to her wedding band, which she rubbed with her thumb so it caught the light. She stepped forward to close the distance between them once more. 

“Remember when you came back that time and discovered that I was engaged, and I said to you that no one else would have me?” She spoke very quietly so that he had no choice but to lean in to hear her. “That was your chance then, your opportunity to say that you would have me, you could have changed my mind.”

Jack spared himself an ironic smile, yes, he knew he could have talked her out of her betrothal to Rhys. Ianto had been right, she’d have only too easily allowed herself to be swept off her feet. There was an undeniable chemistry between himself and Gwen, and he knew it could make for an explosive reaction, but he’d resisted, somehow. What was it with unrequited sexual tensions being so damn dangerous? 

“But you didn’t, Jack. You never said that you’d have me, because you knew that you couldn’t give me what I needed.” She tilted her head up so that their eyes met, she wanted to make sure he heard the next part and understood it. “There was a reason why you couldn’t commit to me completely and that reason is out there and he’s in trouble. He needs you at your best, Jack, because that’s what it’s going to take to save him. You need to pull yourself together and be the leader Torchwood needs, that Ianto needs. No more bloody moping. Come on – be his knight in shining armour – he deserves that.”

“I know – he deserves that and much more.” 

“At my wedding I asked you what you’d do while I was away and your list included pizza, Ianto and saving the world.” 

Jack grimaced at the memory of those words, especially in relation to the way he’d gone on to treat Ianto that evening.

“So what say we go rally the troops and go rescue him?”

Gwen held out her hand to Jack and this time he took it, knowing what he needed to do. 

They left his office and walked down the stairs to join the others around the sofa behind the workstations. Owen and Tosh were sitting with Rhys, who’d rustled up a tray of mugs, each containing a tea bag in boiling hot water, as well as a packet of biscuits and a carton of milk. It was basic, not up to Ianto’s standards, but Jack was grateful that he’d not even tried to work the coffee machine.

“What have we got then?” Gwen asked, prompting Jack to make a start.

“Somebody knew which car we were in and when we left the hotel…” Jack went through the events of the previous night in his head. “It must have been someone in that village. So help me, I’m tempted to take them apart one by one until they tell me where the hell Ianto is!” 

Gwen stood back on her heels waiting for Jack to finish his rant before trying to reason with him.

“Jack, not only would you move heaven and earth to find Ianto, chances are you’d rip them apart too – maybe a more subtle approach might be more successful? You can’t go storming South Wales, all guns blazing till you find him.”

“I dunno about that, I’d be happy to help,” stated Owen emphatically. 

“Thanks for that, Owen. Let me tell you one thing, Jack, villagers round here, they stick together. They don’t like outsiders and they don’t like foreigners. They close ranks and however many heads you break, Jack, you won’t be any the wiser. But I’ve got an idea.”

“Let’s hear it then.” 

“I’ll go down and ask questions. At least I’m Welsh. They’ll speak to me-”

“With all due respect, Gwen, the friendly lady copper approach isn’t going to work any better than Jack’s idea of wringing their bloody necks till they tell us what the fuck is going on.”

“Owen, why do you always have to be so bloody negative?”

“Excuse me,” Rhys cleared his throat to draw attention to the fact he was still there. “I know I’m just the husband here, but I’ve got a thought. We could go undercover like, me and Gwen, stay at that hotel. We could find out more that way.” 

“Oh yeah, and we have such a glowing track record with undercover operations,” Owen drawled, rolling his eyes and ignoring scowls from Jack. “The first one you had a hand in Rhys almost got you and Ianto killed. Another one resulted in my untimely death and nearly got Martha torn open by a giant bloody insect. Yeah - undercover ops, our forte.” 

“Rhys, are you sure about this?” Gwen’s eyes shone in admiration for her husband, oblivious to the reactions of the rest of the team. He was proving to be so much more of a support now he knew what she did and what she worked for. 

“It’s a good idea, Rhys. It just might work.” Jack nodded in approval. “They’d be more off guard – more likely to let something slip in gossip than in an interrogation. Gwen, it’s the North Gower hotel in Llanrhidian, sort out a suitable cover and get down there as soon as you can. Keep in touch. Standard procedure if calls are at risk of being tapped - use the Tourist Information Centre as the contact number. We’ll divert and monitor messages as normal through here.”

“OK, we’ve got still got our baggage with us ready to go. We’ve not been home to unpack or anything yet.” 

Gwen glanced across to the bottom of the invisible lift where Rhys had neatly stacked a heap of suitcases.

“Good, you can continue your honeymoon on the company’s expense account.” Jack winked at Gwen and she smiled back, it was good to see him taking control again. 

Jack spun round and pointed at Toshiko as she waited anxiously.

“As for you, Tosh, I want you to keep up the excellent work on the science front. Get back in touch with the guys at Porton Down, find out as much as you can about the cytokine storm effect. Liaise with them on the treatments known to slow down or even stop it – and make sure that anything Owen is going to need for Ianto is ordered. I’m sure he can give you a list.” 

Owen nodded in acknowledgment; he’d already been working on this when he’d been waiting for Jack to bring Ianto back to Cardiff.

“Meanwhile I’m going white van hunting. Owen you’re with me. We’re going after the Pharm and this time we’ll be ready for them.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ianto opened his eyes and instantly regretted it as the room spun round him in lazy arcs, making him feel nauseous. Before closing his eyes he saw a curtained screen around where he lay. He could smell disinfectant and his fingertips felt metal bars to his sides. 

He figured that the accident had been pretty bad and that he’d ended up in hospital. Jack wouldn’t be best pleased with that. He wondered where Jack had got to, worrying that maybe he’d been killed in the crash and then left for dead by the ambulance crew – but that didn’t make sense. Owen? Wouldn’t he have come to the hospital? 

Ianto was feeling lightheaded and trying to think was making him feel sick again. He almost gave in to the temptation to sink back into the blissful comfort of unconsciousness, but the feeling of something tugging at his left arm distracted him. It was uncomfortable and there was a stinging sensation that he was also becoming more aware of. 

Slowly he moved his head to one side to get a better view of whatever it was that was pulling on him. Unfortunately, the movement caused him to suffer a wave of vertigo and the nausea came back. A few moments later, equilibrium restored, he squinted through his lashes to see a dark red tube attached to the inside of his elbow.

Then he looked across to his left, through a gap in the curtained screen he could see another bed, a hospital cot like the one he was lying on. But with a start he realised that its occupant was not human. The large skull, sparse bristly hair and deeply creased face were those of a weevil, thankfully an unconscious weevil, strapped down. Then he saw that it also had a dark red tube attached to its arm and as his eyes followed the tube down towards the floor he could see that it entered a clear plastic bag that seemed to be gradually filling up. 

Realisation of what was happening made him want to throw up, but his attempts to lean over as he heaved were thwarted as he found that he was unable to move. He was also strapped to the bed, his wrists firmly held in place with strong restraints. He struggled desperately to get loose as panic set in, but it was futile. 

He shut his eyes against the stark white light and prayed that this was just a nightmare, he desperately needed for this to be yet another bad dream that he’d wake up from to find himself in Jack’s arms. He focused on thoughts of Jack soothing him, concentrated on slowing his breathing down, remembering the way that Jack would stroke his back gently to wake him from nightmares – but however much he tried to wake up he couldn’t. He was trapped and there was no escape from being bled to death with no rescue in sight.


	17. Chapter 17

Ianto heard footsteps on stairs and voices getting louder as they approached the room he was in. He immediately realised that his best chance of finding out what the hell was going on was to feign unconsciousness. He just had to concentrate very hard on breathing slowly. There were two men, one was English and the other man sounded vaguely Australian. He then heard the sound of disposable latex gloves being snapped on.

“So this is him then? The extraordinary Mr Jones.” The voice belonging to the Englishman was now slightly muffled. Ianto assumed he’d put on a protective face mask.

“Yes, Geoff. One of your Neanderthals managed to shoot him with one of the combined dose darts.”

Ianto got the distinct impression that the man with a slight Australian accent was not at all pleased with this development.

“Well, Phil, we were told not to let them loose in public with live ammunition.”

“I know – but these guys are ex-squaddies, you’d have thought they could have neutralised a threat without resorting to weaponry.”

“I know – so what happened? How on earth did this come about?” The man called Geoff was sounding exasperated, as if this wasn’t what he’d signed up for.

“They were about to dispose of the second creature and were spotted by Jones. Torchwood Cardiff must have been alerted by that point. A pity we hadn’t been informed earlier. Anyway, they panicked, one of them shot him with what he thought was just a tranquiliser. Once they figured out what they’d done, they had the brilliant idea of dumping him in the marshes with the other body and hoped the sea would deal with their cock-up.”

“Damned idiots!”

“They weren’t even going to tell us about it. But somehow Jones managed to make it back to dry land and his colleagues found him.”

“Harkness?” Geoff asked anxiously, as if there was history there.

“Yes, I still have a score to settle with him concerning the murder of Aaron, but that will wait for now.”

The Australian, Phil, sounded bitter and Ianto had to try hard not to react. This confirmed the involvement of The Pharm, the organisation run by Aaron Copley.

“Thank goodness those bloody idiots owned up once they saw what was going on down in the Gower. Do you think there’s a risk of the infection having escaped?”

“No – it’s only really infectious once it affects the respiratory organs.”

Ianto could feel fingers at his throat as if feeling his pulse and then the back of the hand against his forehead.

“It’s odd that he’s not exhibiting any major symptoms yet. I don’t imagine there’s the possibility that he may have immunity to the disease?” Geoff finished his examination and seemed puzzled at his findings.

“Not possible.”

Phil seemed certain on this, which was enough to make Ianto’s heart rate rise rapidly, fortunately there were no monitors attached, otherwise he’d have given himself away.

“However, as he is the first human infected with H1N1Z3, it could just be that the course of infection is different,” Phil mulled over the possibilities, evidently not concerned about Ianto’s wellbeing. “Perhaps the incubation period lasts for longer in humans than in the creatures?”

“That’s distinctly feasible.”

“Although there is one more crucial factor.”

“And that would be?”

“He’s Torchwood,” Phil spat out the word ‘Torchwood’. “They appear to have dealings with the creatures on a regular basis. They even have a name for them – they call them weevils.”

“So if he’s had contact with them before, he would have been exposed to their specific antigens and therefore may already have gradually developed antibodies within his own bloodstream?”

“Precisely, Geoff, so there would be less reaction to the proteins isolated from the creatures themselves. However, that won’t have prevented the virus from replicating within his tissues in sufficient numbers to harvest.”

“Good, it will be a useful trial on the efficiency of building up stocks of the virus in humans. To be honest with you, Phil, those creatures are proving too violent to keep alive for long. I take it we’re analysing his blood for useful immune products as well?”

“Yes – he would have synthesised a different set of antibodies and cytokines than the creatures. Perhaps something we can use to develop to our advantage.”

“Well, you know the procedure, Phil. You’ve already started I see. Once you’ve got 500ml give it three hours for him to recover with IV electrolytes and glucose. We don’t want him going into system shock or cardiac failure – not yet anyway.”

“What should we do if he does begin to develop symptoms?”  
Ianto felt the tube on his arm being tugged gently. He assumed that the man called Phil was checking the flow of his blood into the bag.

“You contact us and you await orders.”

Ianto took note of that – it appeared that whoever Geoff worked for were in charge of Phil, who seemed to have links with the Pharm.

“What about Harkness? I’d imagine he’ll be looking for him.”

“No, he’ll be looking for a complex, like before. It wouldn’t occur to him to look for a farm house in the back of beyond.”

“Don’t underestimate him, Geoff – that’s the mistake Aaron made.”

“I’ll have to leave you on your own for now, with the guard. I need to get back to the lab with the latest blood collections.”

“Of course – I think we can handle one half dead creature and a sedated, restrained man between us.” The Australian seemed almost insulted at the implication that he may struggle to cope on his own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack was in his office working through satellite images of every white van in the Gower Peninsula and the area to the north of Swansea. Tracking their origins and destinations. Eliminating them one by one. It was just the type of task that he hated, especially when he was in the mood for inflicting physical violence.

Tosh was busy at her workstation comparing files of data on the treatment of SARS from the Center for Disease Control in the USA with those from the Health Protection Agency at Porton Down. Searching for anything that could help in the development of a treatment that would prevent the potentially fatal cytokine storm.

Owen was running through the information they’d gathered on The Pharm, listing associated agencies, suppliers and laboriously checking through all the contracts they’d set up over the past twelve months. He was searching for anything they could have missed – there had to be something.

For all three of them, their toils were frustrating and tedious, but there was nothing else they could do unless Gwen and Rhys found any useful leads down in Llanrhidian.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ianto’s internal clock told him emphatically that it had not been three hours since he’d been put on the IV with fluids. But the Australian was evidently impatient and had chosen to ignore the instructions given by the other man.

After the IV tube was disconnected from the line in Ianto’s arm, a couple of heavies in white coats were instructed to take Ianto to the toilet. He was glad they’d not tried to insert a catheter to empty his bladder. Their bedside manner made Owen seem like Florence Nightingale.

Ianto was dizzy and weakened, unable to put up any resistance as he was dragged to the bathroom. However, when they’d taken him back to his bed and held him down he’d taken the opportunity to flex the muscles in his right arm so that the restraints would not be so tight once he’d relaxed. He’d have to thank Jack for the unorthodox training in how to get out of bonds if he ever got the chance.

The pull on his left arm indicated that he was being drained of blood once more. That couldn’t be good.

Once the Australian and the two other men had left the room, Ianto listened carefully to every sound in the house, waiting for an opportune moment to make his move.

When he heard the front door shut, he figured that at least one of the men had left. Luckily the house was small, and on his trip to the bathroom he’d seen the tiny office next to the room that he was being kept in. Pulling his wrist out of the restraint took time, it was painful and scraped the skin on the sides of his hand, but he’d got free. He’d then tugged at the catheter in his arm to disconnect it, before freeing his other arm from its restraint. He’d been dismayed at the blood that ran freely as a result, but there was no time to stem the flow. He had to move as quickly as possible.

As he’d stumbled out of the bed, grasping onto anything at hand for support, he was sure he’d be heard, but he knew that he had to succeed. He’d be unlikely to get another chance. Crawling into the office, he was relieved to find a landline socket in the wall with a phone connected. He knew he wouldn’t have much time and that, if overheard, the last thing he wanted his captors to hear was something like ‘Torchwood please come and rescue me’. Using the line to the Tourist Centre should alert someone to the situation he was in. He just hoped that there was somebody there, that someone would get his message.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Hub was quiet apart from occasional mutters and curses from Jack and Owen, as they discovered one dead end after another. That and the precise, intense typing at Tosh’s keyboard. So the sound of the phone ringing startled them all. It was a call being transferred from the Tourist Information Centre, automatically going through to an answering machine initially for screening. Jack ran out of his office and looked down at the others – why would Gwen be trying to get in touch so soon? It had to be good news. Didn’t it?

They listened in stunned amazement as instead of Gwen’s shrill tones, they heard Ianto’s voice, hoarse and shaky, but unmistakably his. What really threw them was what he said.

“ _Jubilee Pizza?”_

Tosh was about to pick up the phone, but Jack had dashed down the stairs and grabbed her hand quickly, shaking his head, despite his own desire to speak to Ianto. There had to be a reason for him calling that number and not the direct line.

_“Umm… can you deliver a pizza please? Farmhouse. Any chance of lamb on that?”_

“ _Sorry – wrong number? … Oh_ -”

At that point the phone cut off suddenly.

“Tosh-”

“I’m on it now, Jack. Running a trace on the number, seeing if I can locate where he was calling from… but he didn’t manage to stay on for very long…” Tosh frowned, desperate to make Ianto’s efforts to contact them to have counted for something.

“Oh teaboy – you clever sod!” Owen slapped his forehead and grinned.

“Owen?” Jack gave him a warning look. Although relieved to hear Ianto’s voice, to know that he was still alive, he couldn’t help but be concerned at how frail and weak he sounded.

“He’s only on a bloody sheep farm isn’t he? That’s what he was telling us!”

“Yeah, well that isn’t much help is it! It hardly narrows it down – we’re in Wales as if you’d forgotten!” Jack’s attempts to curb his temper failed miserably as he turned on Owen.

Tosh coughed loudly to get their attention.

“If you two could just leave the testosterone out of it for a minute. Look here - I’ve managed to trace the telephone exchange. Not the full number, he didn’t manage to stay on long enough. But it narrows it down. With that information I can now cross reference with the satellite data and locate farmhouses in the location that were visited by white vans in the last twelve hours!”

“Tosh – you’re a bloody genius!” Owen surprised her with a quick hug and a kiss to the cheek that made her blush.

“Thanks, Owen.”

“Come on then. Let’s bring Ianto home!” Jack felt better now. The haystack had just got considerably smaller and the needle had grown more visible. There was hope now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Mr Jones – what are you doing out of your bed? You’ve pulled out your IV line I see, that wasn’t very clever was it?”

Two men in white coats had him cornered in the small office. They both wore face masks, so he couldn’t see their facial expressions, but he could guess they weren’t overly friendly. One of them held a syringe that he knew would contain a sedative, he’d seen them use it on the weevil. But he had nothing to lose now, he’d made contact, it was up to the rest of the team now.

“He was only trying to order bloody pizza would you believe it?” the thicker set of the two men laughed scornfully, looking down at Ianto as he sat huddled under the desk clutching the phone.

“I’m hungry.” Ianto could say in all honesty. He really was very, very hungry.

“Tut tut, and you’ve hurt your hand as well. Those restraints are there for your own safety you know. We’ll have to make sure they’re on tighter now. Much tighter. Sedate him.”

He was held fast and, despite struggling to put on a good show, which just earned him a few more bruises, he eventually submitted to the inevitable. As the sedative began to take effect he just hoped he’d be found before it was too late.


	18. Chapter 18

“Got it!” yelled Tosh, pointing at the monitor in front of her. “They didn’t go back towards the Gower at all. They must have doubled back at some point. See this area of hilly terrain, north of the M4? It’s pretty deserted just a few isolated farmhouses.” 

“Oh great,” Owen mumbled as he looked over her shoulder at the satellite image of the area. “I just bet Ianto is loving every minute of the opportunity to spend time in the country again.” 

“Shut up, Owen and look.” 

Tosh shook her head to dispel reminders of their excursion into the Brecon Beacons and zoomed in on one particular area.

“A white transit van drove up to this farm house at 9:15 this morning and left again after less than quarter of an hour. Two other vehicles I can make out – one looks like a Mercedes, hasn’t moved all day and a BMW that arrived at 2:30 and then left again at 3:10. Hardly typical transport for sheep farmers.”

“Are you sure that’s where he is?” Jack held his breath, anxious for Tosh to be right.

“Yes I’m certain. I accessed the phone number for that address and the last call made from it was at 16:35 to the Cardiff Tourist Information Centre in Mermaid Quay!”

“Owen – you have what you need in the medical kit?”

“First thing I did after Gwen and Rhys left. I also made sure the SUV is fully kitted out for most medical emergencies. We don’t know how badly hurt he was when you decided to wrap a car round a tree.”

“Thanks, Owen – and for the record I –”

“Yeah, whatever. I still think I should drive though.”

Jack threw the car keys at Owen and snatched his great coat from the coat rack. 

“Tosh – I want you to stay here. Call us if he gets in touch again, and see if you can find out where that BMW went. Get in touch with Gwen too – tell her we think we’ve located Ianto, but I still want her to do some digging, I want to know how those guys managed to follow us.” 

“I’m on it, Jack. Good luck. Let me know when you find him. I’ve sent the co-ordinates through to the SUV satnav. The nearest named location is Salem. Would you believe that?”

“Thanks, Tosh, we’ll be in touch. Salem? It would have to be some kinda hell hole.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Thank god it’s stopped bloody raining. I hate rain.” 

Jack and Owen stood with their backs to the SUV, looking towards the dilapidated farmhouse. Jack was shivering in the cold wind, even though he was wrapped up warmly in several layers. 

“Blankets and spare clothing?” Jack couldn’t stop his teeth from chattering, the bleak moorland offering no shelter. 

“In the back – with his track record it might be a good idea if we made them permanent items on the inventory.” 

Although they’d been tempted to leave the SUV further away, in the cover of a small wood, they decided that it would be too far away if they needed to get Ianto out in a hurry. The compromise had been to park a short distance from the farmhouse, to the side, so they wouldn’t be immediately visible. 

They moved alongside the Mercedes first, crouching down beside it for cover. Owen looked from the tyres to Jack and getting a curt nod of approval, both men opened the valves and released the air. Having ensured no one would be making a quick getaway, they drew their guns and looked to one another, just once, before moving silently to either end of the house. 

The building was run down, with weeds so high they almost obscured the rotten window frames. If it wasn’t for a bright light in an upstairs window, it would have looked as if it had been unoccupied for decades. 

Jack wasted no time in storming the front door. One precisely aimed kick knocked the door off its hinges, the wood splintering on impact. Owen took the back, using his gun to shoot out the lock; it wasn’t as if he could afford the physical damage a shoulder charge could entail. 

The back door led directly into a kitchen and Owen found himself confronting a startled looking guard, who’d been so preoccupied with the newspaper and a cigarette that he’d been taken completely unawares. Before he knew it, Owen had clubbed him about the skull with the butt of his gun and had him cuffed to the leg of the large wooden kitchen table. 

“You should ’ave read the warning on the label mate – smoking’s bad for you.” Owen picked up the cigarette and stubbed it out in an over-flowing ash tray. 

Meanwhile, Jack had dashed in through the front door and finding the front room devoid of furniture or people, had hurtled up the stairs, taking them two at a time. He burst into the main upstairs room to see a dead weevil strapped to a bed with ominous looking tubing in its arms. Then his heart sunk as he pulled back a curtain and saw Ianto, also strapped to a bed, his face bruised and with a tube attached to his arm apparently draining him of his life blood. 

Jack’s abject horror immediately transcended to fury when he caught sight of a man in a white coat backing away nervously, a syringe dropping from his hand to the floor. Jack blocked his exit from the room and wrapping his right hand about the terrified man’s throat he slammed him into the nearest wall and ripped away the face mask.

“What the hell have you done to him, you bastard?” 

Owen had heard the commotion and ran into the room moments after Jack. Although appreciating Jack’s desire to wring every last breath from the scum pinned to the wall, he reined in his anger so that he could assist Ianto. 

“Jack! Ianto – he’s got to be our priority!”

“We need to know what they’ve done to him!” Jack growled through clenched teeth. 

“We can’t waste time getting that out of them,” Owen tried to reason with Jack as he pulled his medical kit from his back pack. “There’s another bloke downstairs. I’ve knocked him out and cuffed him to the table. I suggest you do the same with that piece of shit and we’ll deal with them later.”

Jack grunted in response, but knew that Owen was right.

“When you’ve done that – go fetch the SUV, bring it closer. There’s stuff I need from it. Bring in one of the thermal blankets and the portable oxygen cylinder.”

“Owen – is he-?”

“Now Jack! Don’t waste any more fucking time!”

Jack tightened his grip on the man’s throat just enough to cause him to black out before letting him fall in a heap on the ground. Resisting a strong urge to kick him hard as he lay there, Jack threw him over his shoulder and took him down the stairs.

Owen had turned his back to whatever Jack was doing, a vague hope that he had inflicted some pain crossed his mind before he focused solely on Ianto. His first step was to disconnect the catheter leading to the bag of blood. He really didn’t need to lose any more blood.

“Ianto? Come on – you can’t have stayed out of it during that! Jack must have woken you up, come on open your eyes, it’s me – Owen – come on.”

Ianto groggily opened his eyes. He felt dizzy and for some reason when he tried to talk to Owen he couldn’t seem to be able to get enough air. He found himself gasping desperately and unable to talk.

“Take it easy. I’ll have some oxygen for you in a bit, but for now don’t try to talk. If you can nod or shake your head to answer questions that would help. OK?”

Ianto nodded his head slightly. 

Owen had placed a sterile dressing on Ianto’s arm and was pressing down firmly to stop the bleeding. It was bothering him that it was taking longer than it should and that the blood seemed to be of a thinner consistency than it should have been. He then saw a round plaster further along the inside of Ianto’s arm. 

“Ianto – tell me, was this the first time they took blood?”

A shake of the head confirmed his suspicions. 

“Shit.” Owen looked to the other side of the bed and caught sight of the IV stand, a bag of saline still attached. Then he saw where a line had been attached to Ianto’s other arm.

“Oh fuck. Ianto, I need you to listen carefully. I need you to let me know if this is what they did,” Owen spoke slowly, making sure that Ianto understood exactly what he was asking. “Did they take blood, then put you on an IV and then take more blood later?”

Ianto gasped for air once more, swallowed hard and nodded.

“Yes … took blood twice …I think…”

Owen looked down to the bag at his feet – almost full.

“Shit, shit, fucking shit….” 

Jack could tell by Owen’s swearing that the situation was not good and he could see straight away that Ianto was far too pale and appeared to be gasping for breath. He put the oxygen cylinder next to the head of the bed and watched on as Owen quickly set it up, adjusting the flow rate and then placing the mask over Ianto’s nose and mouth.

“I called Tosh,” Jack said. “I let her know we found Ianto and I’ve got her to call in the police. They can charge those two guys with unlawful abduction, take them into custody and then we’ll collect them later, for our own investigation.” 

“Good plan. Do us a favour and cut those restraints will you?”

Jack pulled a penknife from his pocket and sliced through the straps holding Ianto’s wrists and ankles tight to the bars. He couldn’t help but sigh as he saw the bruises and abrasions revealed as the bindings fell away. 

“What have they done to him, Owen? What have those bastards done?” 

“They’ve taken at least a litre of blood from him in less than twelve hours. Even if they replaced some of the fluid with the IV drip, that’s still not good. Jack – we’ve got to get him a transfusion as soon as we can. He’s in a critical condition.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s only safe to remove half a litre at any one time. They’ve exceeded that. Someone obviously intended to remove as much blood as possible with no concern for his survival. He’s also suffering from tachycardia and hypotension – acute symptoms of heavy blood loss-”

“In English, Owen!”

“Racing pulse and falling blood pressure. They may have replaced the fluid, but his blood cell count has plummeted, so he’s not got enough red blood cells carrying oxygen around his body. He may get severe cramps as well, accumulation of lactic acid in the muscles. Getting more oxygen to him should help. Can you hold this in place for me?”

Jack sat on a chair near the end of the bed as he took the oxygen mask from Owen. Cradling Ianto’s head with one hand, he supported him as he gulped in the oxygen.

“Come on Ianto. You’re going to be OK.”

As Jack stroked Ianto’s forehead, he was alarmed at how cold and clammy his skin felt. These were symptoms of heavy blood loss that he was much more familiar with and he was worried.

“Owen – can he make it to hospital in time for a transfusion?”

Owen shrugged as he continued to monitor Ianto’s vitals and assessed how best to proceed.

“Jack, it looks like they’ve diluted his blood with saline to stop him dying before they managed to collect as much blood as they wanted. I checked that weevil – the set up was the same as in here. Unfortunately, thinner blood flows faster than normal blood and can cause all sorts of heart problems. We can’t move him like this. It’s not safe. I need to stabilise him before we can leave.”

Ianto shook his head as if panicking, so Jack lifted the oxygen mask so he could speak.

“No – get me out of here, please.” Ianto looked to both of them pleading not to be kept in that room a moment longer than necessary. 

“Trust me, Ianto, we’ll get you out of this fucking dump as soon as we can,” Owen said trying to placate his patient. “But I am not taking any chances on you croaking in the middle of nowhere.”

“What do you need?” Jack demanded, desperately wanting to get Ianto home, yet also wanting him safe.

“I should be able to give him a transfusion of packed red blood cells. That’ll improve both his oxygen carrying capacity and the consistency of his blood. Lucky I collected a range of blood products from the fridge in the hub on the way out, so it’s now at room temperature and will be OK to use. I’ll go fetch them from the SUV. Keep him conscious if you can.”

Owen dashed out of the room, leaving Jack with Ianto.

“Ianto – come on talk to me. How are you feeling?” 

“Like shit –better now you’re here –” 

“Me too.”

“-glad you got message…”

Jack chuckled and hugged Ianto gently.

“Very smart. You even impressed Owen with that one.”

“So where’s the pizza?”

“Damn, we forgot to pick it up in the rush to get here.”

“Really though. I am hungry. Very hungry…”

Owen returned at this point with a dark red plastic pouch and a sterile transfusion kit. He was glad to see that the oxygen was helping and that Jack had managed to engage Ianto in conversation of sorts. Jack had moved onto the bed, sitting behind Ianto, so that the sick man could rest his head on Jack’s chest. Ianto was looking considerably brighter and more alert than he had earlier.

“What’s that, teaboy? Hungry? Didn’t the boss treat you to a slap up meal at the hotel last night?”

Owen pulled a chair over and set about the transfusion. He considered putting in a central line directly into Ianto’s chest, but decided that a cannula into his arm would suffice. He was prepared to allow half an hour for the transfusion, after all he was only giving him one unit of O group red cells, less volume than whole blood. As soon as that was done he was getting Ianto into the back of the SUV and back to Cardiff as fast as Jack could drive them without killing anyone. 

He was too busy concentrating on working one-handed, to notice Jack’s guilty expression, but he heard Ianto try to stifle a laugh and then begin choking for air.

“You alright there?”

“Sorry Owen, just the suggestion that Jack actually bothered feeding me was amusing.”

“Jack – do I even want to know what you gave him to eat after I left yesterday?!”

“I tried to give him sandwiches and chips – but he wasn’t hungry-” 

“That was before we went for a walk-” 

“A walk? Jack! He was recovering from hypothermia so you decided to take him outdoors in the fucking rain?” Owen couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Umm… I thought the fresh air would do him good.” Jack hugged Ianto closer to his chest, affectionately kissing the top of his head, thinking that it was just as well Owen didn’t know just how energetic their walk had been. 

“I had some chocolate afterwards, some crisps… you know, good for serotonin levels…” Ianto tried desperately to think of something to say that would save them from the wrathful look that Owen was bestowing upon them both. 

“For fuck’s sake, you two deserve each other. You bloody idiots. Jack, promise me you’ll make sure he gets a meal – a proper meal, protein etc – when we get him back? Please.”

“I promise.” Jack looked over Ianto’s head at Owen and nodded earnestly. He’d failed yesterday. He’d not taken good care of Ianto at any level, and he was determined to make up for that.


	19. Chapter 19

Jack stood at the window, watching the police car drive off down the rough farm track. 

“Swansea Police will have transferred them to Cardiff later on and we can pick them up at our leisure.” 

“Good. I wasn’t looking forward to a trip back with them, and I’m sure as hell Ianto wasn’t either.” Owen was overseeing the final stages of the transfusion, removing the cannula carefully and holding a dressing down until the bleeding stopped. 

“Is the weevil bagged and packed?”

“Yes, Owen. Sealed up just like you requested. I gave Gwen a call as well while I was outside.”

“Gwen?” muttered Ianto. “Isn’t she still in Spain? Or have I been out of it longer than I thought?” 

Ianto looked to Jack, confused and slightly put out that he was calling Gwen.

“Ah yes, getting kidnapped meant you missed a staff meeting, teaboy. Tosh got in touch with Gwen and she decided to come back to help out.”

“Oh shit! Please don’t tell me she finished her honeymoon early just because of me. Rhys will never forgive us.” 

Ianto shut his eyes and threw his head back into the pillows. He thought he’d got through to Jack about Gwen. He suspected that her return had less to do with helping him and more to do with supporting Jack. And he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. 

“Hey, if it hadn’t been for you, there wouldn’t have been a wedding dress or a disco. They owe you!” Jack tried to deflect the thoughts he could sense were troubling Ianto. “Anyway, Gwen and Rhys have gone down to the hotel in Llanrhidian – and stop wincing at my pronunciation, I saw that!”

“I swear you do it on purpose to wind me up,” Ianto scowled at Jack. “So, Gwen and Rhys have gone undercover, right?”

“Oh yes. Sounds like they’re doing a good job of it. Rhys is playing darts in the bar and getting well acquainted with both the locals and their beer by all accounts. Gwen’s going to have a chat with the girl that works on the front desk.”

“Bethan?” Ianto supplied the girl’s name. He remembered how she’d been embarrassed by Jack’s less than subtle display of possessiveness.

“Yeah, that’s her name. The one that was drooling over you-”

“Hang on, are you actually resentful that someone fancied me more than you?”

“Of course not.” Jack’s denial came far too fast for it to be truthful. “And who’s to say she fancied you more than me?”

“Right, I think he’s ready to be moved now,” Owen announced. Although pleased that Jack had managed to distract Ianto, he was anxious to get back to Cardiff. “Jack - grab a blanket and put it on the back seat of the SUV. We’re going to carry him down between us. You’re driving, so I can keep an eye on Ianto in the back.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Before setting off, Jack had called Tosh to reassure her Ianto was as well as could be expected. He’d told her to put the Rift monitors on remote access and to go home for the night. Apart from wanting her to rest, he was also anxious that she wasn’t exposed to the any risk of infection. 

Owen had explained that he and Tosh had rigged up an effective isolation area in Jack’s office. They had installed an air filtration unit and air lock in the entrance at the top of the stairs outside the door. There was no way that Jack was going to let Ianto go home for his own safety and that he wanted him where he could see him. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Before leaving the Hub, Tosh had taken delivery of the drugs that Owen had specifically ordered, which had been delivered by courier. She made sure they were safely stored in the fridge. 

She then placed a note on Jack’s desk:

There are sandwiches, cakes and pastries in the fridge. Also fruit juice and the meds Owen ordered. Give Ianto my love, Tosh xxx

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It took the efforts of both Jack and Owen to wake Ianto up when they arrived back in Cardiff. He was obviously totally exhausted. It was only as they were carrying him from the SUV into the Hub that he managed to come round enough to put one foot in front of the other. But he was still evidently quite shaky and unsteady. 

Tackling the steps wasn’t easy, but once Jack had manoeuvred Ianto into his office he got him settled on the sofa and tucked a large blanket over his legs. 

Tosh’s note made him smile. He leaned over Ianto and placed a soft kiss on his lips, saying:

“That’s from Tosh. She’s left sandwiches for us in the fridge. Hungry?”

“Starving.”  
“Owen said you would be when you woke up. I’ll go fetch some food for you, then I’ll need to go talk with Owen.”

“Jack,” Ianto called out before Jack reached the door. “Don’t keep anything from me. Please?”

“I promise.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What next, Owen?”

“The good news is that I reckon getting hypothermia has slowed down his immune system’s response to the virus. With any luck, he isn’t going to get sick the same way as the weevils did.”

“And the bad news?”

“He’s probably the first human that’s been infected with this particular virus. So there’s not much to go on, no way of knowing what the progress of the disease will be,” Owen scratched his head absently. “Tosh and I figured it might act a bit like the virus that caused SARS. So I’m going to try out the same type of medications that were used then to delay the onset of a cytokine storm.”

“They worked with SARS victims?” 

“Not all of them, but there was some success. Even the ones that survived still got sick. Sometimes because of the drugs.”

Owen knew that was putting a positive spin on it, and even then it didn’t sound too promising. 

“OK,” sighed Jack. “So what are we looking at?”

“There are two drugs that should reduce the concentration of angiotensin, a chemical needed for the cytokine response. ARB’s and ACE inhibitors- 

“Never mind what they’re called. What about side effects?”

“Let’s not worry about them for now. Why don’t you just concentrate on making sure he keeps eating and drinking. That’d be a good start to keeping him alive.”

“Point taken,” Jack grimaced, realising that Owen was not going to let him off for neglecting to care for Ianto properly before he’d been kidnapped. “Let’s go break the news to Ianto. I agreed not to keep anything from him.”

Owen snorted at the concept of Jack being completely up front and honest.

“I look forward to seeing that in action. I give it twelve hours’ tops. Then you’ll revert to form.”

“What does that mean?” Jack was affronted.

“It means you never fucking tell any of us more than half of what you really know. Then it’s what you decide is necessary, rather than what we actually need to know.” 

Owen smirked, knowing full well that there was no way that Jack could argue with that. He was right. Jack didn’t even try to defend himself. He just turned away and made his way back to his office. And Ianto. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once Jack had made sure that Ianto had eaten plenty of sandwiches, washed down with orange juice – Owen had glared at them when Jack mentioned coffee – they went over their latest discoveries. Jack sitting on the sofa next to 

“Anything else you remember from Dracula’s farmhouse?” prompted Owen, as Ianto slumped back on the sofa. 

Ianto tried again to recall as much as he could of the discussion between the two scientists, hoping that he may have overheard something that would help Torchwood work out what the hell was going on. 

Owen agreed with his conclusion that the reason for collecting blood was to isolate even more virus to use. It did seem that the men had been infecting weevils in order to generate more of the hybrid virus that Ianto had told them they’d named H1N1Z3. 

“Viruses can only replicate inside living cells. So it looks like the bastards have been using weevils as virus factories. And you, teaboy, have accidentally joined their ranks.”

“So that’s why they wanted Ianto’s blood?” asked Jack, a hand protectively reaching out to rest on Ianto’s thigh. 

“I overheard them saying something about looking for other immune products,” Ianto frowned as he tried to recall more details. “Does that make any sense, Owen?”

“Perhaps they’re going to try to harvest antibodies from your blood? Or maybe they’re developing further modifications to the disease?” Owen speculated.

“Umm… what did you do with my blood? You didn’t leave it there did you?” Ianto asked, slightly squeamish at the thought.

“I brought back the blood you were in the middle of donating when we found you. I’ll get Tosh to help me analyse it tomorrow. We can make comparisons with the last sample we took.”

“The other scientist, the one called Geoff, he said he was taking samples back to the lab. Can we track where he went?” Ianto yawned as he asked the question, but was determined not to forget anything that could be useful.

“Tosh was working on that, Ianto. No luck so far. She got as far as tracking him BMW as far as Swansea train station car park. It hasn’t moved since.”

“He must’ve got a train somewhere – don’t worry, Tosh will find out where he went,” Owen said optimistically. “But the other one, the Australian, he should be in Cardiff by tomorrow.” 

“Jack, I’ve just remembered something else!” Ianto blurted out, his memory triggered by reference to the Australian. “The man called Phil – he knows you killed Copley. He mentioned it, sounded like he was bearing a grudge. There has t o be a link between these people and the Pharm, mustn’t there?” 

Ianto was worried. There had seemed to be an element of hatred specifically aimed at Jack regarding Torchwood’s role in putting Aaron Copley out of business.

“Yeah. I think you’re right.” 

Jack was very keen to interview the two they’d detained at the farmhouse as soon as possible. But for now it was obvious that Ianto was struggling to keep his eyes open.

“Hey sleepyhead, any chance you’ll let me get you in my bed?” Jack murmured in Ianto’s ear, his breath warm and ticklish.

“As long as I don’t have to stay awake. Yeah, whatever you want.”

Owen took that as a cue to make a speedy exit.

“Right I’m off. I’ll see you two in the morning. Just stay put OK, no bloody wandering off or getting kidnapped. Food and sleep for you, teaboy. And absolutely no shagging! Doctor’s orders!”


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter does include a scene that is adult in nature, but not too explicit.

Gwen had been watching Rhys play darts, whilst keeping one eye on the movements of the receptionist at the bar. The young girl had bought a drink and then sat on a bar stool. She’d been chatting to the barman for a while, although her attention was split between him and door that led into the bar from the hotel foyer. Gwen assumed she was waiting for someone and that she’d have to make her move quickly. She drained her glass and made her way to the bar to get another drink.

“Hello there, Bethan isn’t it?” Gwen beamed at the girl.

“Yes, it’s Mrs Davies isn’t it?” Bethan smiled. It was hard not to respond to that winning smile that Gwen bestowed upon her unwitting victims. “I see your hubby’s made himself at home with the dart board.” 

“Call me Gwen, please. Yes, that’s Rhys. Give him a pint of Brains and a set of darts and all’s tidy. Mind you, I’m not ready to be a darts widow just yet. Do you mind if I join you for a bit?”

“No worries, pull up a bar stool. I’m waiting for my boyfriend to pick me up when he comes off duty. But he won’t be here for another half hour.”

“Does he work here at the hotel as well?”

“Oh no. He’s a copper.” 

Gwen noticed that Bethan seemed quite proud that she was going out with a policeman. 

“Have another drink? My treat – go on.” It hadn’t missed Gwen’s attention that Bethan had been trying to make her drink last a long time by sipping it slowly.

“Well, OK then. I’ll have a voddie and coke if that’s OK?” Bethan smiled again, thinking how nice it was to have young guests at the hotel instead of the usual groups of pensioners. 

Gwen ordered half a pint of lager and a double vodka and coke. She then suggested they take their drinks to one of the small tables near the door. Bethan took her drink and raised a toast to Gwen.

“Cheers and congratulations on your wedding. So tell me what on earth persuaded you that a honeymoon in rain-soaked South Wales was a better idea than somewhere hot and sunny? You’re both Welsh – you should’ve known better.”

Gwen laughed at Bethan’s reaction. If only she knew. 

“Long story. We did go to Spain. Had to come back early. Put it this way, Rhys wasn’t coping well with the food. As for me, I was loving the sun, sea and sangria … but never mind. Anyway, my Rhys said this was a good area for pubs, fish’n’chips and walks by the sea.”

“Well he’s got that right. But that’s about all we can offer. There’s not much in the way of excitement round ‘ere.” 

“So a bit dull then? No clubs I take it? Mind you, I did see signs on the sea road about unexploded bombs. That’s exciting, isn’t it?”

“Well, if you believe them.” Bethan took a sip of her drink and looked over the rim of her glass at Gwen. She could tell from the other woman’s eyes that she was hungry for gossip.

“Tell me more,” entreated Gwen. She couldn’t wait to find out what the locals thought was going on.

“Keep this quiet. But rumour has it those signs are just there to stop folk going out on the marshes and that really there’s been a murder.” Bethan whispered in a conspiratorial way to Gwen. 

“You never! An actual murder?” Gwen whispered back, her eyes wide as she put her hand over her mouth. She managed to look appropriately shocked, despite knowing that not only were the two bodies in the morgue of her work place, but also that they belonged to aliens. 

“Put it this way, there were police in from Swansea and forensics vans, that doesn’t happen when they find old wartime bombs. And no one came from the army bomb disposal unit – they always come here for something to eat afterwards when there’s a bomb on the marshes. And what’s more, they’d even got investigators in from that Torchwood lot.”

“What the bloody hell is that when it’s at home?” It struck Gwen as odd that the girl knew them by name. OK Jack didn’t do subtle and it was all over the SUV …but even so…

“Apparently it’s some secret government organisation based over in Cardiff. Although my Alec says they’re not that secret. He reckons the Cardiff coppers hate ’em.”

“I’ve never heard of them. But we live in Merthyr. Don’t get to Cardiff much. So what were they doing here then?” 

Somehow, Gwen doubted that Jack had failed to make an impression striding about in his great big coat.

“Well, there were three of them to start with. A Londoner, an American and a Welshman – sounds like the start to a joke doesn’t it?” Bethan giggled, the double vodka that Gwen had bought was loosening her tongue just as the ex-policewoman knew it would. “They demanded that they have the biggest room. Took the bloody honeymoon suite would you believe?”

“So that’s why you said me and Rhys would have to make do with a double room?”

“That’s right. They never checked out either. My boss says we should just charge them until we get the keys back. Anyway, not long after they got here the Londoner left, took their big 4x4. He said he was a doctor, but I didn’t believe him. Far too bloody scruffy if you ask me. I wouldn’t let him get his hands on me.”

Gwen almost choked on her drink as a resurgence of suppressed memories of Owen’s hands on her own body came to mind. She looked across to Rhys, reminding herself of why she’d put an end to that stupid fling. 

Rhys took the opportunity to wave across to her from the dartboard, gesticulating wildly at the triple twenty he’d just scored. The other men were slapping him on the back in a friendly way, supplying him with yet another pint. She grinned back at him and pointed at her own almost empty glass, hoping he’d take the hint and get in another round for her and Bethan.

“No, not for me – I’ll be tiddly before my Alec gets here,” Bethan protested in vain as Rhys collected Gwen’s glass from the table and checked what they were drinking.

“Thanks, love,” Gwen leaned up to kiss Rhys, before turning her focus back on the receptionist. “What about the others then? The American and the Welshman?” 

“Well now you’re talking. The American was handsome in that old-fashioned way. To be honest, I didn’t think much of him to start with. But when he smiled at me, bloody hell, he had the sort of smile that could melt knicker elastic, if you know what I mean!”

Gwen smiled broadly. She knew exactly what Bethan meant. The industrial strength flirting smile of Jack Harkness that was irresistible to most women and probably quite a few men. That train of thought was interrupted as Rhys brought their drinks over to them.

“There you go, love and one for your friend too.” Rhys kissed Gwen quickly as he put the drinks on the table before returning to his darts match.

“Thanks, sweetheart.” Gwen was grateful he’d not heard Bethan’s account of the effects of Jack’s smile. He still harboured feelings of inadequacy when in the same room as Jack and she knew that her own behaviour was partly to blame. Meanwhile, Bethan pointed to Rhys and nudged Gwen.

“Nice Welshman you’ve got yourself there. Sweet and reliable I bet. Talking of which, the other Torchwood fella was this really cute Welsh lad …drop dead gorgeous. Sort of shy and sexy all at the same time. When they first got here, the poor thing looked half dead, drenched to the bone he was. Between you and me, I did phone the police after they went to their room. I didn’t know who they were and they were acting that suspiciously. I thought they were up to no good.”

“I don’t blame you. I would’ve done exactly the same. Sounds very odd.” Gwen could only imagine what the three of them must have looked like. However, up until that moment she hadn’t realised just how bad Ianto had been when he’d been found. Yet another thing she’d have to tackle Jack with when she next saw him.

“That’s when my Alec told me they were Torchwood.” In the back of Gwen’s brain, the part that still thought like a trainee detective, a light began to flicker.

“So these Torchwood guys are pretty hot then?” 

“I’d have settled for either of them. But I don’t suppose I’d have had a chance. I think they only had eyes for each other if you know what I mean.” Bethan tapped her nose as if that explained all.

“Oh yes?” Gwen could tell that Bethan was itching to gossip and she seemed to have taken quite an interest in her two colleagues; she’d love to see their reactions to the descriptions she’d just heard. 

“Well put it this way, they came back in from a walk in the pouring rain yesterday. Early evening it was. They came back looking very flushed. I was just asking after the young man’s health, Mr Jones he called himself, as if that was really his name! Anyway the one that called himself Captain Harkness just leans over and says to me: You can look but don’t touch- he’s mine!”

“What? He actually said that!?” Gwen was genuinely taken back at such a public declaration by Jack. She didn’t have to pretend to be surprised as her mouth fell open in shock. 

“Yes – fancy that. Up front, in the open.” Bethan crowed, thinking that she’d shocked her new found friend with tales of a same sex relationship right there in that very hotel. 

“I don’t suppose they’re still here? No harm in a bit of window shopping after all.” Gwen realised she shouldn’t let it slip that she knew they’d left the hotel.

“Tut – and you still on your honeymoon!” Bethan winked at Gwen. “My Alec wasn’t keen on me being friendly to them at all. He got in a proper sulky mood just because I smiled at them. I told him it was my job, to be welcoming to the guests. I think maybe he’s a bit homophobic you know? Anyway they’re not here any more.”

“So they’ve gone? What a shame.” Gwen took a long draft of her lager, feeling that she was getting closer to finding out who had been watching Jack and Ianto.

“Oh yes – they left in the middle of the bloody night. Hearing that damn car skid on the gravel woke me up I’ll have you know. I’ve always been a light sleeper. I looked out the window- just to check no one was stealing any of the guests’ cars – and that’s when I saw them heading off. Trouble is when I got out of bed, it woke my Alec, really pissed him off I can tell you. Wanted to know what the bloody hell was up, so I said ‘it’s OK it’s just that American chap and his boyfriend’. Anyway that was it, I must’ve made him jealous or something because he said he couldn’t get back to sleep, gets dressed and off he goes back to his flat.” 

“He never did?” Gwen looked suitably sympathetic. 

“Yeah. Bloody men.” Bethan downed the last of her vodka and coke and then looked at her watch, wondering why the hands seemed a bit fuzzy. 

“Yeah – bloody men,” echoed Gwen. Bloody men indeed, thought Gwen. She’d found the leak. It gave her a sour taste in her mouth knowing that they’d been set up by a dodgy copper. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack had managed to get Ianto down the ladder and into his bedroom with only a couple of near disasters as they’d slipped on the rungs. It occurred to him that he should get a bed set up in his office until Ianto got better. He refused to think of the word ‘if’, forcing his brain to think of ‘when’.

Ianto groggily emerged from Jack’s bathroom, having brushed his teeth. He was leaning against the doorframe, looking as if he wanted help but didn’t want to admit to needing it.

“Need a hand getting undressed?”

Ianto closed his eyes and nodded.

Jack carefully helped him undress, taking care not to dislodge the dressings that Owen had put on his arms and also on the cuts he had received from the flying glass when they’d gone off the road and hit the tree.

Ianto was wearing one of the tee shirts that Owen had bought for him and the dark green cords. Jack smiled to himself, thinking he really should thank Owen for failing to buy any underwear for Ianto back in Llanrhidian. 

Jack folded back the blankets on his bed so that Ianto could get in first. Then quickly stripping off his own clothing, he joined him. He really, really just meant to warm him up, that was all.

But as they curled around one another in the bed, naked and very close, it was impossible for them not to respond to the proximity of one another. The fear of loss that haunted their relationship served only to heighten their need for physical contact at the best of times; when there was any immediate threat to either of them, their physical needs were only amplified.

Jack began to kiss Ianto softly at first, then more passionately, his hands sliding across Ianto’s back, pulling him even closer. 

“Jack?” asked Ianto breathlessly. “Owen said we shouldn’t.”

“It’s OK. After all, kissing isn’t the same as shagging, is it?” Jack punctuated this with a series of gentle kisses across Ianto’s face, each one getting closer to his mouth.

“Of course not-” 

Jack ended any possible discussion by capturing Ianto’s mouth in his own, slipping his tongue between the other man’s lips. The kiss deepened and displaced all thoughts and rational considerations. 

Eventually Jack broke the kiss and, smiling to himself, he began to slowly crawl down under the blankets, tracing his way down Ianto’s body with his lips and tongue. He could feel the other man’s body respond, arching up slightly from the mattress, craving his touch.

“More…” Ianto licked his lips as he felt Jack’s tongue swirl lazily around his cock 

Jack happily obliged, sucking the tip gently and lapping along the slit with his tongue.

“Jack? That thing you’re doing. What you’re doing with your tongue. That’s not shagging? Is it?” Ianto’s breath caught between the words, as his brain stumbled to put them in the right order.

“Mmm… no, not at all…” Jack shook his head slightly as he held onto Ianto’s hips and then lowered his mouth over his cock, slowly sucking him completely in. His tongue pressed against the underside, teasing and tormenting Ianto.

“Good… just - checking… oh god, that’s good …oh fuck, don’t stop, please…”

No, this wasn’t shagging thought Jack. This was making love and there was all the difference in the world. And nothing was going to stop him from loving this man in his bed, doctor’s orders or not. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Waking early the next morning, Jack gently disentangled his limbs from Ianto’s. It was always a tight squeeze for them both to fit in his bed, but the closeness it entailed was always worth the effort. Ianto was fast asleep. Although Jack felt partly guilty about disobeying doctor’s orders, he’d known that it would help Ianto sleep soundly with less likelihood of being disturbed by nightmares. He deserved that.

Jack pulled on a pair of pants and a white tee shirt. He then crept silently up to his office. He was anxious to check for messages. He thought he’d heard the answering machine pick up at one point in the night, but one look at Ianto’s features, relaxed and free from worry, as he lay curled up in Jack’s arms was enough to convince him that the messages would wait until morning. 

The first one was from Gwen – brief and to the point:

“Our informant is the local policeman – Alec Evans. Boyfriend of the girl on reception. Will tell you more tomorrow.”

“Damn,” he swore under his breath. There had been something off about the young policeman. He’d been unhelpful and almost surly. There had definitely been some animosity there. He’d deal with him in due course – on his own, no need to involve Gwen, she’d only get squeamish. 

If the first message had annoyed Jack, the second message made him incandescent with rage. This time his cursing was not quiet and there was no way that the crashing sound of the phone being hurled against the wall was not going to wake Ianto. 

“South Wales Police here with a message for Captain Jack Harkness. Regarding the apprehension and charging of an Australian citizen by the name of Dr Phillip Copley, I am obliged to inform you that we have received instructions to release this gentleman. He has been issued diplomatic immunity. Dr Copley was collected from the station at 22:40 hours this evening.”


	21. Chapter 21

“No! No!” Jack yelled. “This can’t be happening!” 

“Jack – what is it?” Ianto demanded as he clambered up from Jack’s sleeping area. “What’s happened?” 

Ianto emerged wearing a pair of green cords. He’d left behind the t-shirt he had been wearing, crumpled on the floor and he hadn’t had time to find anything else.

“They’ve let that bastard free! He’s probably on his way outta the damn country by now!”

“Who? Which one?” 

“The Australian. I don’t understand it. Torchwood jurisdiction determines that any person placed in custody at our request is exempt from all bail applications!” 

Jack was pacing up and down, making violent hand gestures. Ianto needed to calm him down.

“Right then, let’s deal with the details. Where from? Cardiff or Swansea? When was he released?” 

Although Ianto was tempted to scream out loud himself, he knew that one of them had to start thinking rationally if there was to be any chance of tracing the released Australian.

“I don’t know. The message was from South Wales Police. They didn’t say where. Listen to the message yourself.” Jack pointed in the direction of his desk momentarily confused by the absence of the phone.

“I would Jack, but the phone appears to have thrown itself at the walls.” Ianto sunk down onto the sofa. Jack sat next to him, taking his hand and wondered if he should tell him the rest of the bad news. Just to prove Owen wrong, he did.

“Copley. His name is Philip Copley.”

“Shit.” Ianto could now appreciate the outburst he’d heard earlier. “So there’s a distinct probability that he’s related to the Copley that ran the Pharm.” 

“You know what I think about coincidences…” Jack looked directly into Ianto’s eyes as he left the sentence unfinished. They all knew that Jack was a non-believer in the concept of coincidence. 

“OK. Taking that to its logical conclusion, he’s probably Aaron Copley’s younger brother seeking bloody revenge.” Ianto rubbed his free hand over his face. “Oh shit, if that’s the case, then I really am in trouble aren’t I?” 

“Hey there, we’ll find him.” Jack pulled Ianto into a hug, wishing he was as confident as he tried to sound. “I promise you. I will find him.” 

“Right then. Let’s not waste any more time. Fetch me a phone that’s not been smashed to smithereens and I’ll get in touch with my contacts at South Wales Police. See what I can find out. The old fashioned way, you know, by talking to people nicely...”

“Good idea. I doubt if I could do diplomacy right now.” 

Jack was grateful for Ianto’s offer to talk to the idiots who’d let Copley free. If it was up to him, he’d have let his fists do the talking, which probably wouldn’t do anyone any good. Ianto would be polite and calm, and hopefully, get some information that they could act on.

“Jack, I don’t suppose you could go and find something for us to eat and drink. I would go myself, but I’m confined to your quarters.”

“You know what?” smiled Jack. “I rather like the idea of you being confined to my quarters.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“OK. I’ve got fruit juice, some leftover sandwiches and some pastries that I think Tosh meant for us to eat for breakfast. I was going to make coffee, but…”

“I would love some coffee. But you thought right, I might suffer a relapse if you touched the coffee machine.” 

“So, any luck with your contacts?”

“Yep, Copley was released from Cardiff Central Police Station last night. Someone from the embassy turned up with the relevant papers authorising his release. They both left by taxi. I’ve got the name of the taxi company, so we can find out where they got dropped off.”

“Good – that’s a great start.” Jack spoke with his mouth full of croissant, which caused Ianto to roll his eyes in dismay.

“Also, I found out that the other man You know, the hired muscle,” Ianto winced slightly, rubbing a bruise on his face as he remembered his encounter with the man at the farmhouse. “He’s still in custody. Name is Colin Thomas. My contact suggested that if we wanted to interview him, that we did so before eleven o’clock this morning. That’s when he’s due to meet with his brief.”

“Excellent. I’ve an idea that Owen would like to come along with me to have a little chat with Mr Thomas.”

“Ah. Before you get too excited, please try to avoid any further physical contact with the man. I’ve only just managed to persuade the constabulary of South Wales that any charges of assault levelled at you and Owen would not stick.” 

Ianto took a long draught of the fruit juice Jack had given him. He figured that it had been all the talking that had made his throat rather sore. 

“The bastards weren’t going to try that?” Jack almost spat out a mouthful of crumbs in his indignation. 

“Copley was considering it. But I can’t see him coming in to give a statement somehow.” 

“OK. Time to call in Tosh and Owen.” Jack wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and swigged a few gulps of juice straight from the carton.

“Get Tosh to bring in some coffee, will you? She knows where to get the good stuff. I’ve got a stinking headache – must be caffeine withdrawal.” 

“Sure. Anything else?”

“I’m going to need some stuff from my flat eventually. Clothes maybe, unless you intend to keep me confined to your office naked.” 

“Oh, now that idea really appeals to me.” 

Jack’s face lit up as he pondered that possibility, already appreciating a semi-naked Ianto on the sofa with pastry flakes caught in his chest hair. However, there was work to do and he turned quickly to head down the stairs into the main area of the hub to call Tosh and Owen. Away from distractions. 

Ianto smiled at the suggestive smirk on Jack’s face, maybe they could get through this after all. However, this thought fled rapidly as a stabbing pain suddenly shot through his head. He realised that he was clutching his head as the peripheries of his vision began to blur and become darker, blackness reaching into the edges of his field of view. 

Luckily Jack had already left the office before this happened. Ianto could hear his booming voice from where he sat, even through the cotton wool that seemed to be filling his ears. He took a deep breath, sat back into the cushions on the sofa and decided that he was not going to let Jack know. As their leader, he needed to be looking at the wider picture and although Ianto loved it when Jack gave him his undivided attention, he knew that Torchwood could not afford for Jack to be distracted, there was too much at stake.


	22. Chapter 22

It wasn’t long before Owen and Tosh came in, with Tosh bearing several takeaway cups of coffee on a cardboard tray. 

“Thanks Tosh, you’re an angel.” Jack smiled as he took the coffees from her and placed them on the edge of her desk.

“How is Ianto?” 

“Tired, but he seems OK for now. Thanks to you.” 

Jack pulled Tosh in for a gentle hug and kissed her forehead, only too aware of how much they owed to her quick thinking. If she hadn’t worked so fast at locating the house where they were holding Ianto, it would have been too late. He recalled how, on the journey back, Owen had told him that Ianto probably wouldn’t have survived losing another unit of blood. 

“I’ll need to check how he’s doing medically and give him another shot of those drugs. Tosh – if you grab a face mask and some gloves, it should be safe enough for you to see him if you want.” 

Owen had headed straight for the autopsy bay to collect the medications that he needed to administer to Ianto.

“Thanks, Owen. I would like that.” Tosh smiled in gratitude. She was hoping there would be a way for her to check for herself how Ianto was. She knew him well enough to know that he could hide things from both Owen and Jack, but was more likely to trust her with how he was really feeling. 

“OK, let’s all meet in my office once Owen’s finished examining Ianto.”

Jack figured that it would be much easier if they could all be in one room to discuss what to do next. All the team except Gwen that was. He’d have to call her later. 

Owen made his way up to Jack’s office and found Ianto sitting slumped on the sofa wearing one of Jack’s pale blue cotton shirts over the green cords. The shirt was too big for him and he hadn’t bothered trying to tuck it in, but he’d rolled the sleeves up, so that the fabric did not chafe the scratches on his arms. He looked more than tired. He looked worn out and in some discomfort, despite his attempts to disguise it. 

“Morning, Owen. I hope you’ve got something in your bag of tricks for a headache.”

“Why’s that, teaboy? Not feeling so good?” Owen asked as he took a seat next to Ianto, holding his wrist to feel for a pulse.

“Just a headache, that’s all. Probably lack of caffeine.” 

“I don’t believe you. Your heart rate’s too high. Come on, what else is wrong? You can confess all to me or I can get the scanner out and find out for myself.” 

Owen opened his medical kit to make sure his threat was taken seriously.

“OK. It’s a splitting headache. And I’ve got aches in my joints and a bit of a sore throat.” 

Ianto decided that he’d keep the rest to himself for now. He was not going to be treated like an invalid, unable to help the team.

“Flu like symptoms?” hissed Owen. “Shit. Jack’s not going to like this.”

“Owen, you can’t say anything to Jack,” whispered Ianto urgently. “Just give me something for the headache so I can function better. Paracetamol, codeine, whatever you’ve got. He mustn’t find out.” 

“I can’t fucking lie to Jack.” 

“Of course you can! You do it all the bloody time.” 

“Yeah. But not about you, you bloody idiot. If he finds out that I knew something was wrong and didn’t tell him -”

“Come on!” Ianto was pleading. “It’s not as if can kill you, Owen.”.

“Maybe not, but I’m pretty sure he could still manage to inflict a large amount of damage.” Owen took a long look at Ianto. “Why don’t you want him to know?”

“If you tell Jack, and he gets it into his head that I’m dying, the whole investigation could grind to a standstill. So we can’t let him find out. We have to make sure that whatever those bastards are up to is stopped. To do that we need to find out where their base of operations is. Then Jack can go in, do what he does best and blow it up.” 

“Right. Much as I hate to admit it, you do have a point. OK, I’ll help you keep this from Jack, on one condition. I’ll give you something for the headache and aching joints, but you must let me know if other symptoms develop or if these get much worse. Promise?”

“As long as Jack doesn’t find out.”

“I think I may regret this. OK, it’s a deal.” 

Jack had been watching from the lower part of the Hub as Ianto and Owen engaged in an apparently heated discussion. He really hoped it wasn’t about what they’d got up to the previous evening. He frowned and decided that it was time to step in and break up whatever was going on.

“Hey, you two – is it safe to come in yet? I’m not interrupting anything am I? Owen, are you upsetting Ianto?”

“It’s fine, Jack. Tea boy is just being a big wuss, doesn’t want another needle stuck in him, moaning about being a fucking pin cushion.”

“Owen thinks the drugs are helping.” 

“Really?” Jack gave Ianto a big grin and then kissed him on the top of his head.

“Yeah, but it’s early days yet.” Owen glowered at Ianto. He’d not agreed to lie that blatantly.

“But it looks good, doesn’t it, Ianto?”

“Yes, Jack.” Ianto gave a tight lipped smile, appreciative of Owen’s cooperation. 

“Tosh, come on up – it’s time we got moving on this,” Jack bellowed down to where Tosh was waiting. 

Ianto was glad to see that Jack was back in charge again, giving orders. He could hear Tosh’s heels clattering on the stairs before he saw her. Even with the face mask on, he could tell she was grinning. She tentatively approached him on the sofa, holding out a mug of coffee.

“Here you go – it’s cooled down a bit. Sorry.”

Owen moved off the sofa so that Tosh could sit next to Ianto.

“Thanks, Tosh.”

“How are you?” Tosh looked him straight in the eye as if daring him to lie to her.

“I’ve been better, but it’s good to see you.” He gave her a half smile, one that didn’t reach his eyes, and that told her all she needed to know. 

Jack dragged his chair out to the middle of the office floor and called the meeting to order. 

“As I see it we have a number of leads that need chasing up. Gwen’s going to check up on a certain PC Alec Evans down in Llanrhidian. It seems as if he informed the kidnappers of when and where to find us.” 

“Bloody country folk,” muttered Owen.

“Thanks for that, Owen. Tosh, if you could do some digging on the guy’s phone records. See if you can get a fix on who he called in the middle of the night on Tuesday.”

“No problem.”

“I'm also gonna get Gwen to find out if there have been any other suspicious activities around those damn marshes. Next we have the guy from the farmhouse who dumped his BMW at Swansea train station. That car needs to be checked up by the local cops and a trace done on it. See if we can’t find out where he got to. Did he get on a train? Did he swap cars? I want to know what happened to him.”

“After you left to find Ianto yesterday, I got Swansea police to impound the BMW. We can check it for evidence. Unfortunately, we don’t know what this man looks like. So any CCTV footage in the station is of no use to us.”

“Great, that’s a start I guess. OK, next on my list is the hired thug awaiting our attentions in Cardiff nick. Owen, you’re with me on that. According to Ianto’s contacts we should get to him before his brief does, which is in about three hours’ time by my reckoning.”

“Looking forward to seeing that weasel-faced little shit again.”

“Also we have the mysterious Doctor Phillip Copley. I wanna know who authorised his release from custody. How the hell did he get granted diplomatic immunity? And I need to know exactly what his relationship is to the late Aaron Copley.”

“Copley? You mean he’s related to the bastard that shot me?” Owen was pissed off enough at the fact that this whole business seemed to have something to do with the Pharm, but if there was a Copley involved he was doubly pissed off. 

“We don’t know. But we need to know.” Jack placed the emphasis on the word ‘need’. 

“This brings me to the final item on my to-do list. The Pharm. Owen you got underway with some background checks on them yesterday – find out anything?”

“Sorry, Jack. I discovered fuck all. The bastards covered their tracks too bloody well.”

“Let me take that on.” Ianto spoke up for the first time since the meeting had begun. His voice was quiet and on the husky side. 

“Ianto, you need to take it easy.” Jack took a close look at Ianto. Something wasn’t right. His pupils seemed too large and he seemed to be breathing rather heavily. But he couldn’t deny that they needed his skills at breaking into files and working through virtual paper trails. 

“Please, Jack. I need to do something.”

“OK. The Pharm is yours to hunt down, Ianto.” Jack nodded, it seemed fitting that Ianto tracked down the bastards who’d pursued them and kidnapped him.

“Right then,” Tosh stated loudly, taking Jack’s attention away from Ianto. She felt Ianto touch her arm gently in gratitude. “I’ll get the details to Gwen on PC Evans first and then I’ll get onto Copley.” 

“Thanks, Tosh,” Jack said with genuine gratitude. He’d seen how she was looking out for Ianto. “Owen – ready to go and play bad cop?”

“I thought you were always bad cop?” asked Owen, with a frown creasing his forehead. 

“Today’s special. We’re both going to be bad cop.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hello there. Colin isn’t it?”

Colin Thomas looked nervously about him. He’d been brought to the interview room ten minutes earlier and the police officer who had been sitting in with him had left as soon as the two men he’d seen yesterday entered the room. The scrawnier of the two was the one who’d knocked him out and cuffed him to the table and he’d seen the taller man dragging Copley’s limp body into the kitchen. He thought that he was going to kill Copley – he certainly looked murderous then. But now the two men were smiling at him as they sat down on the other side of the table from him and somehow that was much more frightening.

“We didn’t get the chance to introduce ourselves yesterday. My name is Captain Jack Harkness and this is my colleague Doctor Owen Harper.”

“Cup of tea?” Owen placed three paper cups of tea on the table and pushed one across to Colin Thomas.

“Don’t you dare touch me you bastards or I’ll ‘ave you for assault!” 

“Oh no, we’re not going to touch you.” Jack took a sip of his tea and smiled in a way that could only be described as predatory. “Trust me, I wouldn’t touch you with a barge pole. You are so not my type.” 

“Now what do you want to tell us about your job?” Owen asked, almost as if making conversation rather than interrogating. “Been working for Copley long?” 

“Not long. I dunno what they get up to, but they pay well.”

“And just what do you do that pays so well?” enquired Jack. “If you’re truthful, we might be persuaded to drop the charges of abduction and attempted murder.” 

“Transport mainly.” Thomas spoke rapidly. “Pick up and dispose of the mutant animals. Then dump ‘em in the marshes.” 

“The what?” growled Owen, his face taking on an almost feral appearance. 

“Them mutant things. They told us they were genetic experiments what ‘ad gone wrong and we was just getting’ rid of ‘em. They said that it was to avoid red tape and government fines.” 

“So you weren’t being paid for using your brains I take it?” 

“We just ‘ad to keep our traps shut.”

“What about the man you were holding against his will?” Jack’s smile had gone now. The thought of this thug having manhandled Ianto made him feel sick to his stomach. “He wasn’t a mutant.” 

“They said he had the virus and it was our fault. If we didn’t want to end up on a murder rap we ’ad to find him. They said they’d treat him. Make him better.”

“Was it you that shot him with the dart?” demanded Jack. Suddenly realising why Thomas would be so nervous.

“No mate, that weren’t me. It was the other bloke.” Colin Thomas squirmed in his seat as Jack fixed him with a glare that seemed to go straight through him.

“You’d better give me his name then. Otherwise I’ll make sure you get sent down for attempted murder.” 

“You know what, Jack? I think it was him. He’s just trying to make out it was some other bloke.”

“Yeah. You know what? I think you’re right, Owen.”

“Tony! That’s all I know. We only used first names.”

“You’re a liar,” Jack spat out as he loomed up, out of his seat. He wanted to make this piece of scum pay for what he’d done. 

“It was you, wasn’t it?” Owen added, jabbing a finger in his direction. “They needed someone who’d recognise him. Make sure they got the right man. Didn’t they?”.

“I thought it was a tranquiliser! I didn’t want to kill ‘im!” By now Thomas was sweating. His mouth was dry and he was gulping frantically. Without thinking, he grabbed the paper cup of tepid tea and downed it in one. “I didn’t mean for ’im to get sick.” 

“And dumping him in the marshes was for his own damn good was it?” Jack growled. “If he’d have died out there, your life wouldn’t be worth living. And if he doesn’t survive, trust me, I shall find you. Wherever you are, I shall find you.”

Jack and Owen then stood up and left Thomas shaking in his seat. As they left the room to be replaced by the policeman, who had been waiting outside, Jack pressed a few keys on his wrist strap reactivating the cameras in the interview room.

“We were never there,” Jack stated.

“How much did you put in the tea?”

“Oh, enough to wipe out the past five years.”

“I would have taken him back to pre-school. You’re too fucking soft.”

“If Ianto doesn’t get through this, trust me I shall pay him another visit and he’ll wish he’d never been born.”


	23. Chapter 23

Rhys had missed breakfast. When Gwen eventually woke him up, he wasn’t just feeling dehydrated, but hungry as hell. As he slowly opened his eyes, wincing at how light it was, he saw Gwen hovering above his, a wicked grin on her face. Before he could work out what she was smiling about, she slipped her ice cold hands under the bed covers and slid them over his stomach. 

“Bloody hell, Gwen!!!”

“Right you, time to wake up. I’ve heard from Tosh. We’ve got work to do and you might to put something on before we set off.” 

“Will it wait until after breakfast?”

“It’s lunchtime, sweetheart. You missed breakfast.”

“Shit. Lunch then?”

“Yes, but not here – any suggestions?”

“When I was a kid, we used to go to Penclawdd. Brilliant fish’n’chip shop there. Next to the car park by the marshes. We could see if it’s still there?”

“If that’s what you want.”

“Nothing like chips for a hangover. Nice hot, greasy chips…”

“OK. You’ve got fifteen minutes to shower and get dressed. I’ll meet you by the car.” 

Gwen gave him a quick, but sloppy kiss on the lips, then bounced off the bed and was out of the door before Rhys knew what as happening. He wished he knew where she got all her energy from. 

By the time he emerged from the hotel, Gwen was standing waiting by the car, under an umbrella. The precipitation was no more than a light drizzle, but it was chilly outside. Rhys smiled broadly at Gwen, thinking how gorgeous she looked in her thick red woollen sweater, tight blue jeans and boots. However, the umbrella was black with cute little red hearts all over it – there was no way in hell that he was standing underneath that, rain or no rain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rhys was delighted that the fish’n’chips shop was still there. It didn’t look like anything special, but the ‘award-winning’ sign reassured him that it was still worth a visit. With a bag of warm, vinegar-soaked chips clutched in his hand, Rhys felt his mood improving. There really was no better food for a hangover in the entire world as far as he was concerned. 

Gwen sat next to Rhys on the sea wall looking out over the marshes. The drizzle was quite fine and they’d decided against steaming up the inside of the car.  
She was tucking into her own portion of chips with a small wooden fork. In case of emergency, she really didn’t want a gun slipping from her grip due to greasy fingers. 

“Oh Rhys, I’d forgotten just how good chips tasted by the sea. Thank you for suggesting this.”

“You’re welcome, love. OK, so what do you have to tell me?”

“Well, it looks like it was Bethan’s boyfriend that let those bastards know when Jack and Ianto set off in the middle of the night.”

“Why would he do that? He’s a copper isn’t he?”

“Tosh carried out a few background searches on him. He’s not your happy local bobby by any means. He failed the exams needed to get onto detective training programmes. Developed a gambling habit.”

“What? Down here?” Rhys snorted.

“That casino up in Swansea. Lost a pile of cash, so got a payday loan. Ended up even more in debt. Then all of a sudden his debts are paid off. In full. And he’s buying rounds at the local pub. Any guesses as to when this happened?”

“How about yesterday?” Rhys waved a chip in the air as if making a bid.

“Yes! Very good. I’ll make an investigator out of you yet, Mr Williams!”

“So, do you have any idea who it was he told?”

“Not yet. According to Tosh, Jack would like to ask him a few questions.” Gwen sighed, recalling how Tosh had pleaded with her to get in first. “But-”

“But you reckon Jack’s idea of a chat may involve broken bones?”

“Something like that. I think I’ll get Tosh to find a way of alerting the local force to his gambling problem and then let them deal with him. An investigation into his dodgy dealings may uncover what we want to know. That’s if Tosh doesn’t find it first.”

“My money would be on your Tosh.” Rhys finished off the last chip and screwed up the soggy paper in his hand before throwing it into the nearest waste bin. The paper had barely landed before a gang of gulls came screeching in, looking for leftovers. 

“Anyways, Tosh also asked if we could suss out if there’s been any other odd activities around here. You know, weird stuff on the marshes. Things the locals may have noticed.” Gwen tucked an arm around Rhys’ waist, and snuggled up to him. “Did you pick up anything from your new best friends at the dartboard last night?” 

“Funny you should ask that. They were talking about the ‘out-of-towners’ that turned up recently. Three blokes that said they were from Cardiff. Loaded, they were by all accounts. Paid for their rounds with crisp fifty pound notes. Lads I was talking to figure they must be involved in something a bit on the dodgy side to earn cash like that from a driving job.”

“Sounds like the same men that attacked Ianto and then forced him and Jack off the road.” 

“Yeah and one more thing, even though they said they were just driving from Cardiff and back, they weren’t Welsh. You know what folk round here are like, an English accent sticks out like a sore thumb. These blokes weren’t from Cardiff. Or Wales for that matter.”

“Rhys,” Gwen leaned away from her husband briefly to deliver a glare of mild disapproval. “You do know that there are people who work round here that aren’t Welsh -” 

“Your boss for one, I know. But not many in the transport trade.” Rhys spoke with authority that made it clear to Gwen that he actually did know better than her about this particular subject. “Not unless they’re shifting stuff long distance.” 

“OK, so not locals then. What about the Cardiff City sticker then? The one Ianto saw.”

“Anyone can put a sticker in a window. Trust me, Gwen, those blokes were no more Cardiff fans than I’m a supporter of the England rugby squad!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ianto had been working on the computer in Jack’s office all morning. His eyes hurt and his headache was coming back despite the painkillers Owen had given him. But he was onto something and he didn’t dare stop following the trail in case he lost it. It had taken time, but he had more patience than Owen and once he’d found one loose thread, it was easier to unravel the story behind the Pharm. 

He had already discovered that in its early days the Pharm had been a legitimate biotechnology company. It had been involved in the production of a range of commercial enzymes and hormones using genetically modified bacteria and yeast cells. 

Then, back in 1996, they had taken delivery of some freeze-dried specimens from UNIT. The specimens had been labelled ‘Silurian samples’, collected and catalogued by Doctor Elizabeth Shaw in the early 1970’s. Ianto had called UNIT and found out that Liz Shaw had worked alongside Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart before resigning. Apparently, she could no longer work with the Doctor. One of her objections was that ‘all he really needs is someone to pass him his test tubes and tell him how brilliant he is’. The Doctor? Jack’s Doctor? If Ianto wasn’t already suffering from a headache, this information would have given him one anyway. 

Then, following on from that lead, Ianto had uncovered other links between the Pharm and UNIT, as there had been further exchange of materials. It appeared that UNIT had used the expertise of the private company to carry out research into biological samples that had extra-terrestrial origins. It wasn’t clear if UNIT disclosed the actual source of these specimens and samples, but it would explain how the Pharm originally came to be aware of alien life forms and their potential.

The Pharm had been bought out in 1994. Most of the stocks being purchased by an unknown buyer. UNIT had initially been opposed to this and had appealed to higher authorities, but all the objections they had raised had been overturned and the company had changed hands. UNIT then ceased dealing with the Pharm.

Not long after the takeover, the Pharm had expanded. It had developed larger facilities, buying in more technology and higher spec equipment. Security was increased and many long term employees were made redundant and replaced by new people. It was at this point that Aaron Copley became its director. 

Further digging and hacking into bank accounts led Ianto to an authorisation for further funding. As soon as he read the details, a cold chill ran down his spine and he shuddered. It was as if a ghost had walked through him. He couldn’t believe the name of the person who’d sanctioned the expansion of the Pharm. A name synonymous with the organisation that must have taken over the Pharm.

“Oh my god. Tosh! Come and see this!” Ianto’s voice was hoarse and broken as he called out to Tosh over the comms.

“What is it, Ianto? Are you alright?”

Tosh rushed up to Jack’s office and was shocked to see that Ianto’s face was almost white and he was visibly shaking. She rushed to his side and looking over his shoulder at the monitor it was only too clear what had caused his reaction. 

“Oh no, no…I don’t believe it, oh God, Ianto, it can’t be! We’ve got to get Jack back here now!”


	24. Chapter 24

“Tosh? What is it? You can’t or won’t say? Is it Ianto? Is he OK?” Jack was yelling at his phone now, desperately trying to work out what the hell Tosh was trying to tell him. 

“Jack – what the fuck’s going on?” Owen walked across from the back of the BMW they had been checking out. 

“It’s Tosh. She says we have to get back straightaway, but she won’t give me any damn details!”

“Is it Ianto?” Owen suddenly looked very serious and that bothered Jack. He’d said that Ianto was OK.

“No, apparently not, but it’s something that Ianto has found out-”

“What – to do with the Pharm?”

“Must be – Tosh let me speak with Ianto.” Jack had one hand on his hip and his coat was flapping as he paced back and forth desperate for answers that made any sense. 

“Ianto – speak up I can hardly hear you. You OK? This is bad isn’t it? You don’t trust that we won’t be overheard? Ianto? OK. Look we’re in Swansea now, picking up the BMW. I’ll get Owen to drive that back and I’ll head straight back in the SUV.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ianto?” 

“They’re coming back now. There’s no way we can trust the comms on this. I’m not being over paranoid am I?”

“No, Ianto, I don’t think you are. I’ll set up blocking devices in Jack’s office to prevent any eavesdroppers accessing our conversations.” 

“Could they pick up on my hacking – track us back from there?” Ianto pointed at Jack’s computer.

“Damn. Yes, they could. Print out hard copies of what you’ve got so far, and then I’ll cover your tracks.” 

“Onto it now …sent to print. OK it’s all yours, Tosh.”

“Ianto, I want you to clear all the browsing history, temporary files on your area of the network – everything you’ve done this morning … you know the drill.” Tosh gave out instructions whilst tapping away at the keys, setting up firewalls and laying false trails with fake ISP codes. 

“Right, Tosh.” Ianto trusted Tosh implicitly when it came to computer security. 

“I’ll reset the system once you’ve done, reboot and hopefully there won’t be any trace of your digging and at least you take care when hacking, unlike Jack and Owen who leave signatures as big as molehills.”

“Thanks – from you that’s a real complim-” Ianto couldn’t finish what he was going to say as he started coughing.

“You OK?” Tosh turned as she was leaving Jack’s office to see Ianto doubled up over the computer. 

“Yeah,” spluttered Ianto. 

“Really? You don’t sound it.” 

“No, I’m not OK, Tosh. But this has to take priority. Can you do me a favour? When Jack gets back, will you go through this with him? I’m not sure if my voice will hold.”

“You’re getting more symptoms aren’t you, Ianto?” 

“It doesn’t matter-”

“It does matter. You matter,” Tosh stated emphatically, not giving Ianto a chance to disagree. “Let me get you some lozenges from Owen’s store once we’ve sorted this out. Maybe some hot honey and lemon?”

“Thank you, Tosh.” Ianto managed a weak smile and returned to his keyboard, setting about securing their systems. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“OK, kids this had better be good,” bellowed Jack as he swept into his office. “I really don’t like secrets.” 

Jack glowered at Tosh who was standing in front of his desk and then at Ianto who seemed to have placed himself as far away from Jack as possible. It struck Jack that Ianto’s body language was way off, he was holding his hand over his mouth and wouldn’t look him in the eye. Ianto looked so ill at ease, it was obvious that something was being kept from Jack. It reminded him too much of previous secrets that Ianto had kept from him. 

“Take a look at these.” Tosh laid the print-outs on Jack’s desk in front of him, distracting him from Ianto.

“We’ve covered any online tracks after printing these out. But if this means what we think it means-” 

“NO!!” Jack shouted out loud as he looked up from the page he’d read first.  
Screwing up the offensive print -out in his fist, he snarled. His face a picture of unfettered rage. Wrath permeated his entire being at that point. Their enemy had a name. It was Torchwood.

“Jack? What is it? What the hell have these two found out?” Owen had arrived just in time to hear Jack shout out furiously. 

Jack threw the piece of paper at Owen, who snatched it from the air before flattening it out on the desk. He could tell that it was a copy of an authorisation for £450,000 to be transferred to the Pharm, at the request of Aaron Copley. The damning evidence was in the signature approving the transfer. Someone infamous throughout the whole of Torchwood. Yvonne Hartman.

“Shit. That means-” 

“Yes, I know damn well what it means. Torchwood One owned the Pharm!” Jack spat out words with venom in his voice before abruptly turning his attention to Ianto. 

“Ianto? What the hell is this all about?” Jack stormed across the floor of his office to stand inches from Ianto.

“What?” Ianto was totally dumbfounded. He couldn’t believe that Jack was behaving so aggressively towards him.

“You! You were London Torchwood, dammit. All this time, you must have known!” Jack accused Ianto, having interpreted his evasive body language and avoidance of eye contact as an admission of guilt. 

“Jack?!” 

Before Ianto could say anything else, he found himself shoved violently against the glass wall of the office. He thought the impact of his head hitting the wall was going to make him black out, the pain exploding in his skull. Ianto could feel Jack’s fists bunching up in the fabric of the cotton shirt, forcing the air out of his lungs. 

“You fucking idiot, Jack! It’s not his bloody fault!” Owen grabbed Jack’s arm and dragged him off Ianto. 

As Jack’s grip was released, Ianto collapsed to the floor, coughing hard and gasping for breath. Owen pushed Jack out of the way as he rushed to Ianto’s side, supporting him as he curled up, evidently in a lot of pain. 

“Ianto? Are you alright? Oh God, what have I done?” Jack was horrified at how he’d reacted in his blind rage. All he’d seen was Torchwood One and all it had stood for. 

Ianto just shook his head slightly and signalled for Jack to back off as he tried to approach him. 

“Tosh… explain it to him …Jack…just… just leave me alone.” 

Jack reluctantly moved back to his desk, but couldn’t take his eyes off Ianto, wanting to go to him, to make amends, to comfort him, but Owen’s fierce glare made him keep his distance. It took Tosh angrily waving the rest of the evidence in front of his face to pull his attention back to the issues they were dealing with. She icily explained the background to the links between the Pharm and UNIT, and then the involvement of Torchwood One. 

When Tosh had finished going through the details, Ianto spoke from where he was still sitting on the floor. He was propped up against the sofa, leaning on Owen’s shoulder. He was still short of breath and Owen hadn’t failed to notice he was trembling and flushed. The heat radiating from his skin having nothing to do with Jack’s assault on him. Ianto spoke quietly and his speech was broken up by short coughing fits. 

“The motto at Torchwood One was ‘if it’s alien it’s ours’. Canary Wharf was all about alien tech … labs under the Thames Barrier… worked on removing alien chemical residues, including huon particles… from sea water. It got flooded after the Racnoss incident. There were other buildings all over London … not just by the river…”

“Take it easy, Ianto,” Owen urged.

“You need to know,” Ianto shook his head gently as he resumed, determined to get out what he did recall. “There were rumours of a biomedical division… we joked… called it the ‘Roswell Dept’. I never knew if it really existed. Jack, I was just a junior researcher, for fuck’s sake…they kept us in the dark. I never knew about the Pharm!”

Ianto shut his eyes and fell back against the sofa, unable to continue.

“Ianto, I’m so sorry …” Jack’s eyes were shining with unshed tears and he once more tried to approach Ianto. He needed his forgiveness, especially as he could tell that the man was not only hurting, but also desperately ill.

“No, Jack. You’re not.” Ianto opened his eyes and stared at Jack. “You made it perfectly clear to me once how you felt about Torchwood One. I can see that no matter what’s been said or done since … you still hold all of us who worked for Torchwood London responsible … probably including the 796 who died that day…” 

Ianto’s voice was barely audible at this point, the words sounded as if they were being torn from his throat. 

“I need to lie down. Jack, don’t follow me. Owen, can you help me please?”

“Ianto…”


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edited from the original version, where I allowed characters to make certain admissions far too easily. In hindsight, I now realise that much more went unsaid than we'd have liked. But, that said, they knew how each other felt.

Jack watched in abject despair as Ianto turned his back on him and asked for Owen’s help. From the corner of his eye he caught sight of Tosh leaving the office in disgust, telling him she would be back in the morning. 

Owen had helped Ianto as far as the hatchway, to the top of the ladder. As soon as he was sure that Ianto was going to make it down without falling, Owen walked over to where Jack sat crumpled on the sofa, his head in his hands. He didn’t give a shit about Jack’s feelings right now, he was furious.

“What the fuck was that all about?”

Owen pushed Jack back into the sofa hard and leaned over him, planting a hand down on either side of Jack’s shoulders preventing him from moving, fully intent on punching him if he had to.

“I could tell he was hiding something, Owen. When I came into the office, he wouldn’t let me anywhere near him. He avoided me. Wouldn’t even look me in the eye. I could tell something was wrong, I -” 

“Yes, you thick bloody idiot, he was hiding something from you! The fact that the meds aren’t helping and the virus is making him sick! He didn’t want you to know. He begged me not to let you know. Fat lot of good that’s done him!”

“How bad is it?” Jack pushed Owen’s arms away from his sides and stood up towering over the doctor. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” 

“I didn’t tell you because he didn’t want you to know. The selfless bloody fool wanted you to focus on the case. He didn’t want you to be distracted by what was happening to him.” Owen shoved Jack in the chest to make his point. “You are so fucking thick sometimes. Did you really think that he knew about the link between the Pharm and Hartman?”

“Of course not! But as soon as I saw her name on that form and I looked over to Ianto and saw him looking away from me – something inside just snapped-” 

“Yeah, you put two and two together and came up with a cyberwoman in the fucking basement. Betrayal – even the hint of it - always going to be your weak point.”

Jack looked shocked to the core. Owen had hit the nail on the head and it hurt.

“Jack, you had no right to attack him. Just because he used to work there-”

“He didn’t just work there Owen! As you just mentioned, he rescued a damn Cyberman -”

“He thought it was still the woman he loved, and you bloody well know that. You knew it then, too.”

“I wanted to kill him then-” 

“But that was then. We’re all damaged goods here, Jack. We all got second chances. And he’s not done a fucking thing since, apart from give you his loyalty and devotion. You know he’d do anything for you, Jack. Bloody hell, he shot me once just because I was doing something you’d told us not to do!” 

“I know, Owen,” Jack sighed. “What the hell am I going to do? How do I mend this?”

“Go talk to him now. Don’t leave it. Don’t let this wait. He might not want to see you right now. He may hate your fucking guts, but trust me, he needs you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack slowly climbed down the ladder. There was just a dim light by the bed, illuminating Ianto who lay there on his side still wearing his shirt and trousers, his eyes opening as he heard Jack’s feet on the rungs. 

“Ianto? Please, can we talk?”

“If you think so little of me, I don’t see much point. Unless you want me out of your room. Maybe you’d like me to move into one of the cells?” 

“Of course not!”

“You made it perfectly clear… in front of the others…. that you don’t trust me. Despite all we’ve been through. You think I’d betray you? How could you? Can you possibly imagine how much that hurts?” 

Jack thought of how he had felt when the Doctor had told him that he was wrong. How much it had hurt to know he’d been rejected deliberately – by someone he thought loved him, by someone he’d do anything for. 

“Yes, I can imagine,” Jack replied, nodding his head forlornly. “The Doctor. He abandoned me. I spent a long time thinking that he didn’t know I’d survived. Then I found out that he knew I was alive and he still left me.”

“Why?” Ianto asked, momentarily confounded.

“Doesn’t matter now. But when I found out, it hurt more than anything I’d ever been through. I don’t know if you can find it in your heart to forgive me, Ianto. I know I’ve hurt you in ways I can barely imagine –”

“I don’t know if I can. Not this time…” Ianto had closed his eyes again, not wanting to give in. 

“I thought you were hiding something from me. Owen just put me straight on exactly what it was you didn’t want me to know.”

“He had no right –” Ianto’s eyes shot open. “I asked him not to say anything-”

“It was his duty to tell me. But I wish you’d have told me yourself, Ianto. I don’t want you to go through this alone.”

“It doesn’t matter now. Just tell me what was going through your head. I need to know. Make me understand.”

Ianto rarely asked Jack for explanations, he usually waited patiently for him to offer information, but this was a plea that Jack could not ignore. He owed it to Ianto to try to explain why he had acted so out of character.

Jack sat on the edge of the bed, not touching Ianto, but looking at him directly. 

“I always get so damn angry at the thought of what happened at Torchwood One –”

“And you think I don’t?” Ianto raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

“God, Ianto – you’ve as much reason as I have, if not more. It’s just that when I went in to clear up, I was horrified at the scale of destruction. All brought about by the actions of the institute I belonged to, had given the better part of my life to. Something I believed in had become everything I despised. It was like reliving a time in my past that I never wanted to think of again.”

“Jack?” Ianto could sense that he was about to be told something from Jack’s past life that he rarely shared, and despite how hurt he felt, he wanted to listen. He could tell how much it was costing Jack to discuss this.

“Remember John saying we worked together in the Time Agency? Well that was a long time ago for me, but way ahead in your future. When I first joined up I was so damn proud at being selected even. But it got nasty. A mission went horribly wrong. I can’t tell you what exactly – just that it got so bad I resigned. Ianto – I’ve not talked about this with anyone for over a hundred years. Maybe I should have. The Agency wiped two years from my memory. I haven’t a clue what happened or what I did, but I do know that I was a different person then. I did things I’m ashamed of now – violence and torture were tools of my trade.”

Ianto shook his head, taken aback by the bitterness of Jack’s words, it seemed as if he despised who he used to be.

“There are times when something comes up that acts like a trigger. I feel echoes of what I used to be, and that scares the shit out of me. What happened in London, the Cybermen, Yvonne Hartman – that makes me see red. Something snaps inside and it almost feels as if those memories are about to surface… then I lose them again.”

“Shit. That would account for why you’re so screwed up. Does John know – could he help?”

“Ah, if only. But John doesn’t care for me like… that.” Jack almost said ‘like you do’ but decided he’d forfeited the right to take that for granted. “If anything ever triggered the ugly side of me, we’d just end up kicking the shit out of each other and then …” Jack stopped in time before he said they’d fuck each other to oblivion. 

“Ianto, when I attacked you… I hate what I did to you. I can’t bear to think that I hurt you. That I could do that to you of all people – but you have to know that I care for you a great deal. I guess you hate me right now?”

“No, Jack. It would feel so much better if I did hate you. But I don’t.” Ianto looked into Jack’s eyes and hoped he picked up on what he wasn’t putting into words. “And that’s why it hurts so fucking much when you don’t trust me.”

“God, Ianto. I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you-”

“It already has and there’s nothing you can do about it. Just – just do your job and stop these fuckers. Please?”

“Forgive me?” Jack held out a hand, palm facing up, beseeching Ianto to accept his apologies. “I know I don’t deserve it, but I’m begging you.”

Ianto looked at Jack’s hand and then up to his face. He could see the regret etched there and despite his better instincts he placed his hand in Jack’s.

“Is there anything I can get for you?”

Ianto began to shake his head and then nodded:

“Yes, water and something for my head please…”

“I am so sorry-”

“Not all your fault. It was throbbing before you tried to put it through a wall-”

“Damn! Why didn’t you say something?”

“I didn’t really get much chance –”

Jack nodded abruptly and then left to fetch water and painkillers.

When he returned he found that Ianto had shuffled over to the other side of the bed, leaving room for him to lie down alongside him. Ianto patted the empty side and looked up at Jack with a resigned look on his face.

“I haven’t got the luxury of keeping you hanging around waiting for forgiveness –” 

If Jack’s heart was already feeling crushed, now it seemed as if it was being ripped in half. 

“No, please don’t think that. We’re going to find a cure-”

“Jack, no more talking now. Just hold me, please? I need you.”

Jack carefully lay next to Ianto and gathered his trembling body into his arms, drawing him close. He could feel the feverish warmth from his skin even through the cotton shirt. Ianto buried his head into Jack’s chest, needing the comfort so much that he couldn’t afford to hold onto his anger. 

“I’m scared, Jack…” 

“Me too.”


	26. Chapter 26

Ianto had eventually fallen into a restless sleep and Jack had covered him with a blanket before heading back up into his office. He could listen to Ianto’s breathing from there and get to him quickly if he was needed. Although part of him desperately wanted to stay there holding onto Ianto, there was a case to deal with. One that had serious repercussions for Ianto’s health and well being. For Ianto’s sake, if nothing else, he needed to get back to work.

Jack sat down at his desk and started going through the documents that Ianto and Tosh had prepared earlier: the accumulated results of their separate researches earlier that day. Now that he was thinking more logically, he realised that there may well have been something there that they would have missed that he would recognise from his long years working for Torchwood. 

Owen was surprised to see Jack poring over the various print-outs that lay scattered on the desk. 

“Ianto?” His voice was accusatory – he really hoped that Jack had made amends. 

“Asleep,” Jack spoke softly and gestured at the open hatchway.

“How is he?” Owen sat down on the chair opposite Jack. 

“Physically, he’s running a temperature, and his breathing is sounding rough. He’s snoring – but don’t tell him I told you that.”

“Fuck you two with your bloody secrets – I am going to tell him at the first opportunity. Other than his health, how is he?”

“Hurt, because of my stupidity and convinced that he’s dying. So all in all, not doing too well.” Jack’s voice was tinged with regret, he could have kept that information from Owen, but he felt the need to confess his part in how bad Ianto was feeling. 

“But you managed to talk things through with him?” Owen looked Jack in the eye, tapping into this opportunity to get honest admissions out of his boss.

“Yes – I don’t deserve his forgiveness and I’m not sure I have it yet, but I think he knows I’m here for him.” Jack sounded remorseful, which gave Owen hope. 

“Just make sure you don’t pull any more fucking stunts like that.” 

“Owen- that’s not going to happen again, and if it does I give you permission to shoot me where it hurts most.” 

“I’ll hold you to that. Mind you I might have to push Tosh out of the way to get to you first – she called me and made me promise to hang around to make sure Ianto was OK.” 

“Is that why you’re still here? I thought you’d have gone by now.”

“I read through some files that Tosh pulled up and then checked the results of Ianto’s blood tests. I wanted to compare the sample I took this morning with the blood we brought back from the farmhouse with us.”

“And?” 

“Viral load is increasing, but so far cytokine levels aren’t rising as rapidly as they would if he was having an extreme immune reaction. Still higher than I’d like to see though.”

“What about the symptoms he’s getting?”

“To be expected with that level of infection from a ‘flu type virus. I can give him something to reduce the fever and take the edge of the headache. As long as you’re not intending to go slamming his head into any more walls that is. Then again, maybe body armour and a crash helmet might be advisable.”

“Told you – not going to happen.” Jack shook his head. “What are his chances, Owen? Honestly?”

“The drugs I’ve given him might be helping to prevent an extreme immune response – it’s still too soon to say. The Health Protection Agency at Porton Down suggest OX40-IG – an experimental drug still in clinical trials – might be worth trying. The longer we can delay that the better, reduces the risk of multiple organ failure. I’m worried about the viral load in his bloodstream, his immune system isn’t producing effective antibodies against this bloody virus. If he can’t fight it off – I just don’t know what his chances are Jack.”

“Is it possible that the Pharm – or some branch of Torchwood One, actually developed a cure for this?” Jack knew he was clutching at straws, but he couldn’t accept that Ianto wouldn’t recover. 

“Not a cure as such, but perhaps they managed to isolate antibodies from the infected weevils.” 

“Which would be in their labs? So we need to find where these damn labs are.”

“Yeah –we need to shut them down. Looks like we need to find out about this Biomedical Division that Hartman set up, especially if it was news to you. I’d imagine that the Pharm was just part of it.” 

“Yes – I had no idea. After the Battle of Canary Wharf, Torchwood One was shut down by royal decree. I was given command of the Torchwood Institute as a whole.” 

“That’s when you and Suzie went in to secure any alien tech before it got into the wrong hands, right?” 

“Yes. UNIT provided manpower and transport for us. I was in overall charge of the operation. I took Suzie to check for alien weaponry, ensure it was disabled and taken back to Cardiff if she thought we could make use of it. I also got her to wipe their computer system, after downloading anything useful.”

“Ah – Suzie, yes, I was screwing her then. She never let on much about what she saw there, but I do recall her wanting my assistance in helping her put it out of her mind.”

“I imagine you took that responsibility with all due professionalism.” Jack gave Owen a look that made it clear that he would disapprove if it hadn’t been something he’d done himself in the past. 

“Yeah well, we all know how Suzie ended up. Maybe we should get Tosh to go through the files she downloaded. Search for evidence of other premises used in London.”

“Good idea, if she’s talking to me tomorrow.”

“OK. What else have we got to go on? What was it Ianto said about the labs under the Thames?”

“Oh yes – those. The front was a company called H.C. Clements. Y’know what? It wasn’t until the Racnoss disaster that I knew the labs under the Thames Barrier were up and running again. That worries me, Owen. If those facilities managed to fall into the wrong hands, what could have happened to the other labs? The ones I don’t even know about.”

“Torchwood London was totally shut down wasn’t it?”

“Funding stopped when the Queen ordered its closure. But, looking at these files it seems that Yvonne had already siphoned off plenty of cash to set up the Pharm.”

“But we dealt with them – you wiped their systems and euthanized the aliens being used. Who is behind it now?”

“Copley? Keeping it in the family? The other question is why? Why has he resurrected the business? Tosh tried to find out how he got released from custody. The only possible criteria for overriding my request would be that he is either Torchwood or in the Australian government.”

“There aren’t any Aussies at Torchwood 2 are there?”

“No, just a grumpy Scot. But, that’s something else that I’ve been thinking about – in the early days Queen Victoria wanted Torchwood to have a presence throughout the British Empire, in case of alien invasion in any corner of her realm.”

“Fuck – so there could actually be something out in Australia? The Queen is still constitutional monarch there, so it could get funding like we do.”

“Not as far fetched as you may think. Uluru has been used as a refuelling stop for many an alien ship.”

“Ayers Rock? Now you’re taking the piss! Aren’t you?”

Jack just raised his eyebrows in that infuriating way that suggested he knew much more than he’d ever tell.

“Torchwood Down Under?” Owen blurted out. “Oh for fuck’s sake, that’s all we need – a branch of the company with a grudge against the Brits.”

“We know that Phillip Copley is Australian. Tosh found out that he’d only been in the country for a few months.”

“Since our encounters with his brother?”

“Just after. So it looks like I need to go to London tomorrow.”

“You want me to go with you?”

“No, Owen. I need you to stay here. Close by for Ianto, please.”

“Tosh?”

“No. I want her to keep working on Copley’s whereabouts. There has to be a link between him and Torchwood.”

“You’re not going in on your own are you?” Owen demanded.

“No. I’m calling Gwen back in. She can come with me.”

“About time she did some bloody work.”

“Owen – she was on her honeymoon. Anyway, it’s getting late - I’d best call her and tell her to get packing.”

“Tell you what, I’ll go check up on Ianto. Give him some meds, see how he’s doing, if that’s OK?” 

Jack nodded his head, grateful that Owen would be looking in on Ianto before leaving. 

“You go ahead and break the news to Gwen that her honeymoon is finally over and she has to come back and do some real work that doesn’t involve gossiping in a hotel bar.”

“As soon as you’ve seen Ianto, you should go home, Owen.”

“Will you be alright?”

“Yeah. I’ll keep watch over Ianto. I’ve still got a lot of making up to do.”


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some explicit content in this chapter as Jack makes it up to Ianto.

“Jack?” 

“How are you doing?” Jack sat down on the edge of the bed watching Ianto roll down the sleeves of the shirt he’d been wearing. Owen had obviously given him a few more shots of whatever medications he thought might be helping. 

“Truthfully?”

“I’d appreciate it.”

“I feel awful. Owen seems to enjoy treating me like a pincushion. I ache in places I didn’t know I had. And on top of all that I feel grungy as hell - I could really do with a shower.” His nose wrinkled as he sniffed at his own armpits.

“Want help with that?” 

“Thanks. I didn’t want to ask, but I’m not sure I can manage on my own without slipping on my arse and inflicting even more injuries on myself.”

“OK, let’s see what we can do to make you feel cleaner.”

Jack quickly stripped off down to his boxers, leaving them on in an effort to assure Ianto of his good intentions. He then helped Ianto out of his shirt, carefully unbuttoning it and slipping it over his shoulders and off of his arms. He noted that the dressings on the glass cuts had been removed by Owen and the wounds were healing well.

“You looked good in this. I like seeing how you look in my clothes.” He risked a small smile at Ianto, who returned it with a slight shake of his head and a roll of his eyes. 

Taking this as a good sign, Jack then helped Ianto out of his trousers, getting him to rest his hands on his shoulders as he lifted his feet out of the bunched up corduroy. Jack was pleased when Ianto didn’t let go, but allowed himself to be helped into the small ensuite bathroom.

Jack got the water running first, making sure the temperature was right before leading Ianto by the hand into the shower cubicle. As Ianto leaned against the tiled wall, Jack shampooed his hair, gently massaging his scalp at the same time, hoping that it would ease the tension that was no doubt contributing to the headache that he’d complained of. Then he soaped his back and arms with the utmost of care, rubbing the lather in a circular motion along either side of his spine, slowly working at the knots in the muscles. Feeling Ianto relax under his tender ministrations, he moved down to wash his legs, cautiously avoiding spending too much attention to any part of Ianto’s body that could suggest that his motives were anything less than chaste. Standing up again as the hot water sluiced the suds from their bodies, he was rewarded as Ianto turned around, loosely wrapped his arms about Jack’s waist and kissed him softly on the mouth.

Turning the water off, Jack grabbed the pile of towels and wrapped Ianto in them as if he was made of porcelain. He then quickly kicked off the soggy boxers he’d forgotten he was still wearing and briskly rubbed off the excess water with a towel, before taking Ianto’s hand in his.

“Bed?”

Ianto nodded. Dropping the towels to the floor, they both crawled between the sheets and held each other close, aware of little else but the touch of warm, damp, herbal- scented skin. The medication that Owen had given Ianto earlier, in conjunction with the hot water, had eased the aches and for the first time that day, he actually felt free of physical pain. 

Looking into Jack’s eyes he could sense hesitancy, lines of worry creasing his brow. Ianto leant over to him and softly pressed his lips to the other man’s mouth, opening them slightly so that he could run the tip of his tongue over Jack’s lower lip, until Jack parted his own lips, allowing the gentle kiss to develop into something deeper and more passionate.

He needed to displace the earlier memories of Jack’s aggression. Just in case. It was just a matter of persuading Jack.

Ianto hadn’t spoken a word and had barely moved since the shower, but he surprised Jack by holding onto his upper arms and then rolling over onto his back, pulling Jack on top of him. He ran his hands over Jack’s back from his damp hair all the way down to the small of his back and over his arse, hoping that he’d understand what he needed. 

Jack tried to take his weight off Ianto, pressing his hands down into the mattress and pushing away, only to find himself pulled back downwards with surprising force.

“What do you want, Ianto?”

“Make love to me. I want to see you as you come inside me. I want to take that image into my dreams. That’s what I want to see when I close my eyes.” Again Ianto hoped Jack would know what he meant without him having to spell it out.

“But you’re not well-”

“Please, Jack – this is what I need.”

“Slow and gentle then … OK?”

The thoughts that ran through Ianto’s head as Jack slowly began to make love to him were dominated by the desperate need to wipe out the image of Jack’s angry, rage-contorted face. Looking up he was grateful to see eyes dilated with lust instead of distrust. He felt his head sink into the pillow. His body being pressed down into the mattress. The memory of the impact of the wall fading as the sensation of being pushed down into the bed displaced it. Jack’s hands upon him were flat palmed, not fisted, caressing not shoving.

Slowly he felt Jack explore his body with lips, tongue and fingertips. He allowed one tear to escape and slide down his cheek unseen, knowing that Jack, was also making memories for safe keeping. 

Time became meaningless and for that he was grateful. He wanted this to last forever. The drugs that Owen had given him were making him drowsy, yet through the slight haze that had begun to occupy his head in place of the throbbing headache, he was very conscious of the attention that Jack was paying him. He closed his eyes and sighed as he felt fingers slicked with lube pressing slowly and insistently into him… his body’s initial tensing up giving way to more pleasurable feelings, his own arousal begging for attention and receiving it … Jack’s hands teasing him slowly yet mercilessly … and then the unmistakable awareness of Jack entering him, filling him, possessing him. Yes, that’s what he needed… he couldn’t help gasping out loud.

Jack paused and looked at Ianto for permission to go on. He was caught on the cusp of losing himself in the heat that emanated from Ianto’s body and pulling out, fearing that he’d only cause him more pain. But the sight of his Ianto’s eyes, dilated and seeming to gaze into his very soul gave him the answer he longed for.

As soon as Jack began to move, all conscious thoughts fled, the primitive desire for pleasure took over. Relishing the way Ianto writhed beneath him, his thrusts became deeper and harder, demanding release. Lost in the throes of pleasure he wished the feelings coursing through his body could go on forever, yet they came to a climax all too soon, as he collapsed onto Ianto in a sweaty, sticky heap, gasping for air. Ianto had been tighter and hotter than usual, no doubt due to his illness, but Jack's body had loved it.

Ianto thought he’d passed out maybe, the room seemed to be spinning and tiny swirling spots of light swam in front of his eyes. They really, really shouldn’t have done that, but he was immensely glad that they had. 

“Ianto? You in there?”

“Yeah.” A hoarse croak, followed by a coughing fit as Ianto tried to breathe again.

“You’re not sounding too good – you OK?” Jack pushed himself off Ianto and took a good look at him. He was more flushed than usual and did seem to be having trouble breathing.

Ianto shook his head.

“What is it? What can I do?”

“Give me a minute…” Ianto quickly reached out to grab hold of Jack’s arm. He concentrated on catching his breath and focused on a fixed object – the hatch in the ceiling – to stop his head from spinning.

Jack was worried that Ianto wasn’t looking him in the face and began to panic. Mentally kicking himself for allowing lust to reign over common sense. So much for looking after Ianto, yet again he’d made him even more ill. 

“Just short of breath and a bit dizzy. And a bit sore. Nothing to worry about… really...” 

“Sure you’re OK?”

“Yep. Nothing worse than the usual after effects of ‘dabbling’ with you.” Ianto grinned nonchalantly at Jack, relishing his reaction.

“Yeah? Well I won’t tell Owen if you don’t.” Jack kissed him sloppily.

After using the abandoned towels to wipe them clean, Jack lay on his side next to Ianto and pulled him into a close embrace, rocking him gently.

As Ianto allowed himself to fall asleep in Jack’s arms, he was glad they’d had this evening together. Owen would kill them both if he had any idea what they’d got up to in spite of medical advice. But now when he pictured Jack in his mind, the overwhelming emotions accompanying the image of sparking blue eyes and a wide smile, were comfort, passion and affection. Not only could he happily live with that, he’d be content to die knowing that was how Jack felt about him. 

Forming a protective cage with his arms about Ianto, Jack wished he could protect him from everything from deadly viruses to his equally destructive temper. If he could only deflect all that would harm the man in his arms. It seemed so unfair that he had lives to spare and Ianto only had one. A very fragile life, always in danger and currently drawing to a premature end if he and his team couldn’t find a cure soon.


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And now for that eureka moment ...

Reaching out carefully for his watch, trying hard not to wake Ianto who lay curled between the wall and his body, Jack frowned as he saw that it was already 7:30. He dropped the watch back onto the nightstand and gently stroked the face of the man who lay sleeping next to him, his skin warmer than it should be, but no longer feverish. 

Jack slid his arm out from under Ianto’s shoulders and slowly slipped out of the narrow bed. There was too much to be done to spend any more time in bed. No matter how much it hurt to lose that physical contact. 

He dressed quietly and climbed the ladder back into his office. It was not long after he sat down at his desk that he heard the alarm sounding, alerting him to the fact that someone else was making an early start. Glancing at the CCTV feed he could see Toshiko entering the hub, dragging a holdall that seemed to be almost as big as she was.

Despite a certain amount of trepidation at how she’d treat him, Jack knew he should help her with the bag, so he ran down the stairs to greet her.

“Morning, Tosh. Good to see you.” 

Although Jack was considerably taller than Tosh, he felt intimidated by the glare she was projecting in his direction. He stood sheepishly, his hands in his trouser pockets, waiting to be hauled over the coals for his actions the day before. 

“Owen rang last night. He said you’d made an effort to make up for your inexcusable behaviour towards Ianto. I was in two minds whether or not to speak to you today, but figured that the person most likely to suffer as a result would be Ianto.”

“OK – so in other words, you’ll work with me for Ianto’s sake?”

“Too damn right, Jack. You certainly aren’t deserving of any favours right now.”

“What’s in the bag?” Jack pointed at the holdall sitting on the floor between them.

“Clothes, toiletries. A few essentials. I went around to Ianto’s flat last night to pick up a few things for him.”

“You have a key to his flat?” Jack frowned as the first thing that came to mind was that the only reason he had a key was in case of emergency – as Ianto’s boss.

“Yes.” Tosh smiled, sensing Jack’s discomfort and more than happy to make him stew a little longer.

“Why?”

“He’s a good friend, Jack. He has a key to my flat as well. We looked out for each other when you went away.”

Jack wondered just how they’d looked after one another. He decided he really didn’t have the right to brood over his imagined images of Tosh and Ianto comforting one another. Shaking his head to dispel images that were wont to make him either jealous or turned on, if not both, he leaned over to pick the bag up from the floor. 

“Thanks, for looking out for him. Then and now. I’ll take this to my room.”

“How is he?” Tosh’s expression softened as she asked after Ianto. 

“Pretending that he’s fine.” Jack shrugged. “You know what he’s like. If he wasn’t restricted to my office, he’d be making us all coffee.” 

That was one small mercy. The need to keep Ianto isolated did prevent him from overdoing it whilst claiming he was perfectly well. 

“I know.” A small smile graced Tosh’s lips, confirming that she knew only too well how hard Ianto worked no matter how he was feeling. “I’ll get to work then if that’s OK with you?”

“Of course. And, Tosh? I’m really sorry about yesterday. I was out of order.”

“Yes, you were.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Jack reached the bottom of the ladder into his sleeping quarters, he was surprised to see Ianto sitting up in the bed, his back against the wall and the blankets pulled up around his chest. His hair was sticking out all over the place, dark curls gone awry. Jack noticed that there were dark circles under his eyes, which looked red-rimmed and watery.

“Hey there, I was hoping you were going to get some more sleep.”

“Although there is much more room in here without you, it wasn’t so warm.” Ianto’s voice was hoarse again, a worrying symptom as far as Jack was concerned. “Anyway, I need to be up and doing something useful.”

“Tosh brought in this for you.” Jack set the bag down next to the bed. “ It weighs a ton. I hope she didn’t put a suit in here, because if she did, you’re not wearing it.”

Ianto looked relieved to see the bag. He swung his legs over the side of the bed so that he could reach out for it and haul it up onto the bed next to him.

“Thank God – some of my own clothes to wear for the first time since Monday. How long ago is that?” Ianto frowned, realising that he’d completely lost track of time.

“Let’s think. Today’s Friday, so that makes it a full working week in which you haven’t worn a suit. No wonder everything’s going to hell in a hand basket.”

“Very funny. You may be happy either naked or in other peoples’ clothes, but I’m rather fond of my own.”

Pulling out a soft black and white checked shirt and a pair of jeans, Ianto’s face lit up. Rummaging further into the bag revealed tee shirts, socks and underwear, as well a pair of old trainers. 

“I’m not sure I approve of the fact that Tosh knows where to find your underwear,” Jack teased, his eyebrows raised and a mock pout on his lips. “She said she’d got you toiletries as well.”

“Oh yes– she packed a razor and shaving gel, as well as my toothbrush and toothpaste.” Ianto sighed, holding up the bag of toiletries as if it was the best gift he’d ever received. 

“There you go – why don’t I leave you to get a shave and freshen up.”

Jack smiled, he knew how much it bothered Ianto when he felt scruffy. His unflappable nature was reliant on the need to be in control. And although the stubble was quite attractive, he preferred a smooth-faced Ianto to get intimate with.

“Thank Tosh for me – please?” 

“Sure. I’ll give her a kiss from you if you like.”

“That’s fine - but no tongue.” 

“I’ll try not to get carried away.” Jack grinned. “I’ll go fetch something for you to eat and see you in my office in about twenty minutes.”

“Thanks, Jack.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time Gwen arrived back at the hub, Owen and Tosh were so engrossed in an intense discussion of the latest results from their joint analysis of the virus, that they didn’t notice her immediately. She couldn’t help but smile, glad to see them getting on so well together. If only Owen had recognised the value of their friendship earlier. 

If Owen and Tosh’s interaction had brought a smile to her face, what she saw as she looked up towards Jack’s office caused her to grin broadly. Jack had one arm wrapped tightly about Ianto’s waist, whilst he cupped his head with his free hand, kissing him tenderly and with undisguised affection. She was happy on two counts, first of all to see for herself that Ianto was safely back at Torchwood and secondly, to see that Jack was showing him just how much he meant to him.

“Jack!” She eventually called out, but not until she saw that they were moving apart.

Making sure that Ianto was settled on the sofa, Jack exited through the quarantine shield set up by Tosh and Owen, and made his way down towards Gwen.

“Welcome back, again, Mrs Williams.” Jack gave her a hug and a kiss on the forehead.

“I told you before, it’s still Cooper.” 

“So does that make Rhys? Mr Cooper?”

Owen and Tosh looked up from their work to witness yet another instance of flirtation between Jack and Gwen. They shared one brief look and silently swore to one another to make Jack pay if he upset Ianto with any more of that particular type of behaviour.

“I want to see Ianto.” Always a declaration of intent with Gwen, never a request. 

Before Jack could answer, Owen intervened. 

“Not without a face mask and gloves, Gwen. You can’t risk getting infected if you get too close.” 

“What about him?” Gwen pointed at Jack, an incredulous look on her face.

“What about me?” 

“Well from what I just saw, you were getting pretty close just then.” She stared at Jack, wide-eyed with disbelief. 

“That would be because Captain Never-say-die doesn’t get sick like mere mortals,” Owen answered on Jack’s behalf.

“What? Never?” Gwen looked at Jack demanding an answer. All she got from him was a shrug.

“Trust me, Gwen,” added Owen. “Not so much as a bloody cold.”

“Jack? Is that because you can’t… you know, can’t die?”

“No, Gwen. I’ve been pretty much immune to most diseases for a longer time than that.”

“Really? I thought it was down to your ‘condition’.” Owen frowned. “So why is it you don’t get sick?”

“Let’s just say fifty-first century antibodies.” Jack pressed his lips together and did his best to look enigmatic. He always felt uncomfortable telling the team about the future, ever concerned that he could inadvertently mess with timelines. 

“That sounds like bullshit. Come on, Jack. We’re in the twenty-first century, not the Dark Ages. Try to explain it so at least me and Tosh can understand.” Owen deliberately left Gwen out, wanting a scientific explanation and no simplifications just for her sake.

“OK. Not quite antibodies, but something that Time Agents were, are, will be inoculated with.” Jack still struggled to use the right tense when describing his past, that was far ahead in the future of his colleagues. 

“The principle was to prevent transfer of diseases between time zones. It was vital to avoid any possibility of causing catastrophic epidemics. That sort of stuff can change the course of history.”

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Especially considering the fuck-ups we made in the past, spreading smallpox about the globe. How does it work then?” 

“To be honest, I never bothered too much with the details. From what I remember of the spiel they gave us, it works by promoting rapid deployment of appropriate antibodies and some kind of targeted destruction of infected cells. It’s like it enhances the body’s own defences.”

“So I take it that it works against alien diseases?”

“I guess so. It would have to. Taking into account interspecies relationships …” Jack tried hard not to think of Ianto’s description of him as an intergalactic slut. 

“In other words you screwed aliens?” Owen put into words what they were all thinking.

“I wouldn’t put it quite like that-”

“I bet you did!” Owen retorted gleefully.

“Oh my God, Jack!” Tosh put her hand over her mouth.

“Woah, Tosh! Pot, kettle?” Jack spun around to defend himself. “Remember Mary? You can’t seriously –”

“No, Jack – for God’s sake! I don’t care about your sexual exploits.” Tosh glared at him, before turning to Owen. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“I doubt it. Hang on a bit… you’re talking about alien antigens, aren’t you? Fuck!” Owen grabbed hold of Tosh’s shoulders and rewarded her intuition with a big smile. 

“Jack, this is important. Just how close have you been getting to Ianto?” Tosh tentatively asked.

“Quite close, you know. I’ve held him.” Jack looked uncomfortable, unsure of how much he should be admitting. “What the hell is all this about?” 

“Jack. Answer one simple question and for fuck’s sake be honest,” Owen turned on Jack, completely serious. “I swear I am not going to be pissed off with you if the answer is yes. Have you and Ianto had sex since he got infected?”

“When you say sex…?” Jack felt himself cringing internally. Gwen’s expression wasn’t helping. 

“Sex involving the exchange of body fluids. No details please. Just yes or no!” Owen was looking increasingly irritated by Jack’s evasive replies.

“OK, that would be a yes.” Jack was now thoroughly puzzled. What the hell did his and Ianto’s sex life have to do with any of them.

“Fucking brilliant!” Owen high-fived Tosh, as she let out a triumphant squeal. 

“What?” Jack demanded.

“Jack – get over here and roll up your bloody sleeve!” Owen had grabbed his arm and was literally dragging him over to the bench in the autopsy bay.

“What?!” 

“Tosh – get a sterile syringe and tubes for blood.”

“Yes, Owen.” Tosh was looking flustered, yet excited as she dashed across to collect the equipment that Owen requested.

“What the hell is going on? I am ordering the pair of you to tell me!”

“Jack – if you have been exposed to the H1N1Z3 virus from Ianto, your enhanced immune system would have responded to it,” Tosh explained patiently. “Preventing you from being infected and therefore -” 

“It means there could be a potential cure for what is killing Ianto swimming around in your fucking bloodstream!”

“You mean that all this time, I’ve had the cure in my blood?”

“We’ll have to isolate it – there may be compatibility issues and it’s not guaranteed to work, but so far it’s the best bloody chance he’s got!”

Jack rolled up his sleeves, prepared to let Tosh and Owen take as much blood as they damn well needed.


	29. Chapter 29

Jack made it clear to Gwen that he wanted some time to talk to Ianto on his own before letting her see him. Part of him wanted stride into the office, grab Ianto and swing him around, shouting out that they’d found a cure. However, the rational aspect to his persona urged a more measured approach, knowing full well that it would only hurt more if Ianto’s hopes were raised for nothing. Jack settled for a compromise, he’d show cautious optimism, giving Ianto a reason to hold on, without giving him false hope.

As he entered his office he could see that Ianto had set out the numerous documents on the floor in neat piles, adorned with numerous post-its, with passages glowing with fluorescent colours of highlighter pens. Jack could see that he’d been studying them methodically, looking for any clues they’d missed earlier. Ianto was concentrating hard, intent on doing whatever he could and Jack had to admire his determination to keep going, even though he personally wished he’d just take it easy and rest.

“Ianto?”

“Hang on a minute, I think I’m onto something-” Ianto held a hand out to hush Jack as he quickly scribbled something down on a notepad.

“Ianto, please listen to me.” Jack took the pen from his hand as he took a seat next to him on the sofa. “This is important. Owen and Tosh think they’ve figured out a possible treatment for the virus. A way of getting it out of your system for good.”

“What?” Ianto frowned and looked at Jack as if he’d announced that he was eloping with the pterodactyl.

“You’re not gonna believe this – remember a few days ago you saying you were worried about me catching the virus?”

“Yeah-”

“And I told you not to worry as I had fifty-first century antibodies?”

“Yep. I did think that maybe you were bullshitting me. Sounded suspiciously like the fifty-first century pheromones line, and there’s no way that smell is natural.”

“Hey! Both just so happen to be true. Well sort of – anyway, the deal is that when I was younger, working for the Time Agency, I got an inoculation. Developed from nano-biotechnology. It works by boosting my immune system so it can tackle most pathogens. Owen figures that if I’ve been exposed to the virus you’re infected with, there could be something in my blood that could be extracted and used to develop a treatment for you.”

Jack could tell from the bewildered expression on Ianto’s face that he wasn’t doing a good job explaining Owen’s hypothesis. He bit into his lip, wishing he’d got Tosh to discuss this instead.

“Right then … try that by me again in a language that I can understand, bearing in mind I’m fluent in several.” Ianto looked thoroughly confused, he thought he’d heard Jack say there might be a cure, but he needed to have it simplified to confirm he’d understood what was being suggested.

“OK, here goes.” Jack placed his hands on Ianto’s arms, looking him directly in the eyes, trying to make sure that he was taking in what he had to say. “Basically, my blood contains something that stops me getting sick and it might be able to kill the virus you’ve been infected with.”

“Might? So it might not work? And Owen took some of your blood?” Ianto went to look at Jack’s arm, before remembering that the puncture wound would have healed over almost as soon as the needle was withdrawn.

“They can take as much blood as they damn well want, if it means that we can stop this virus from killing you!”

“Won’t it be messing with timelines?” The pessimistic side of Ianto was almost deliberately looking for reasons why this wasn’t going to work. “Giving me something from the future to cure this disease.”

“I don’t want to hear that. If I have to strap you down so that Owen can inject this cure into you I shall, don’t dare doubt me on that one!”

Ianto was unable to stop himself automatically rolling his eyes as Jack’s lips twitched at the thought of doing just that.

“Oh really, Jack – any excuse huh?”

“Don’t you get it? There’s no guarantee this will work anyway, so why not give it a try – for me?” Jack pulled Ianto into his arms, hugging him tight to let him know just how much this meant to him.

“Jack, don’t raise your own hopes too high, please?” Ianto whispered.

He could feel Ianto tense in his arms, he knew that Ianto was keeping himself from being too excited on purpose. His apparent diffidence being a mechanism for defence and Jack had to play along with it for his sake. He was aware of Ianto’s need to remain in control emotionally, so he patted him on the back and then reluctantly loosening his hold.

“OK, now you were going to tell me what you’ve got from this lot.” Jack pointed at the piles of paper on the floor.

“Not much more from the print-outs themselves – apart from the fact that Yvonne Hartman not only knew about the Pharm, but was also behind the funding of its research programme. However, there were some references to other departments that stirred up some old memories.”

Ianto rubbed his face wearily and Jack was immediately aware that reopening the can of worms that was Torchwood London was taking its toll on him, his voice was strained and there were dark circles under his eyes.

“When I was taken on as a junior researcher I was assigned to Rupert Howarth. He acted as a mentor to me. He didn’t survive the battle – was killed early on. I found his body.”

Jack reached out to Ianto as he saw him close his eyes, only too aware of the images that were resurfacing of the events at Canary Wharf. He gave him a moment or two to deal with the painful memories, letting him know wordlessly that he didn’t need to continue until he was ready. He watched carefully as Ianto swallowed hard and then nodded slowly.

“Rupert was head of the Biochemical Research Division. Although, he had an office at Canary Wharf, his labs were located in a building requisitioned from the University of London. It occurred to me that there may well have been some information shared between his department and the one set up by Yvonne Hartman. I wouldn’t have known about it, but-”

“That sounds feasible,” Jack nodded in agreement. “It’s OK Ianto, I know you’re not to blame for that anything they got up to.”

“Anyway, I can provide you with the location and access codes to enter Rupert’s old labs. Perhaps you can find something there?”

“That sounds a good place to start. We only ever dealt with the Canary Wharf buildings.”

“Meanwhile, I thought maybe I could look through records of utility bills paid from the Torchwood account over the past ten years…there were a large number of building… some just safe houses, others used for storage. But labs use a lot of power, it might help pinpoint the location. Also, if they’re using weevils, they must have some sort of handling station here in South Wales.”

Jack let Ianto ramble on fully aware that he was just doing his best to focus on something other than Canary Wharf or genetically engineered diseases.

“Sounds tedious to me. But you’ve got some good plans, there.” Jack patted Ianto’s knee. “Will you be OK?”

“Unless I die of boredom before Owen and Tosh find a cure, I think I’ll cope.” Ianto replied, doing his best to reassure Jack that he was up to the research task he’d set himself.

“I was going to take Gwen up to London with me. You OK with that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I should insist that Rhys to go as well. You know, act as a chaperone.” Ianto couldn’t resist teasing Jack.

“That won’t be necessary. Apart from anything else, I want Gwen to have her mind on the job. Will you be alright while I’m gone?”

“You planning on coming back?” Ianto asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Of course!” Jack replied indignantly.

“Then I’ll be fine.”

“Oh yes, I nearly forgot. Gwen wants to see you. You up to a visit?”

“Oh God, she’ll want to crush the air out of me in the guise of a hug, call me sweetheart and tell me it’ll all be fine. Then she’ll give me that smile, the one she uses on doomed victims to cover up the fact that she secretly thinks they haven’t a hope in hell.”

“So, that would be a yes?” Jack pretended not to notice the eye roll or the fact that Ianto’s observations were scarily accurate.

“Does anyone have a choice where Gwen is concerned?”

Jack looked abashed at that comment, thinking back to when she had given him a choice, or at least the opportunity to influence her choices.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.” Ianto had spotted Jack’s discomfort and felt bad about it.

“I know you didn’t and for what it’s worth, I did have a choice. I chose you.”

Ianto couldn’t trust himself to speak, afraid of saying the wrong thing and spoiling the moment, or losing his voice with the same effect. So he settled for wrapping his arms about Jack’s neck and drawing him close for a kiss that was soft and tender.


	30. Chapter 30

Before setting off for London, Jack decided to brief Tosh, Owen and Gwen together in the boardroom. 

“Tosh and Owen, I know you’re working on the extract from my blood, but I also need the pair of you to check on some loose ends. There are too many of them for my liking.”

“Tell me about it,” muttered Owen.

“First – Copley. Where the hell has he disappeared to? Where did he go once he was released? Has he left the country? I want him found.”

“Sorry, Jack, but he just seems to have disappeared into thin air,” Tosh spoke up, apologetically. She was frustrated that she’d failed to find the Australian. “There’s a passport issued by the Australian authorities in the name of Philip Copley and, unless he has other travel documents under aliases, there’s no indication he took a flight out of any of the main airports. But I’ll keep working on that once I’ve finished the lab work that Owen needs help with.”

“Thank you, Tosh. Secondly – Alec Evans. Any progress, Gwen?”

“Oh yes, I forgot to say with all the excitement earlier. I’ve arranged for him to be suspended and held for disciplinary action. On the grounds that he accepted bribes to pervert the course of justice in order to pay off gambling debts. The investigating officers should be interviewing him later today. Procedures dictate that they’ll be running checks on his contacts to establish who paid him off. They should be getting back to me as soon as they have anything. They owed me a favour…”

“Good work. What about his phone records? Weren’t you onto that yesterday, Tosh?”

“Yes. The call he made in the early hours of Tuesday morning was to an account set up fraudulently. The billing address is a building scheduled for demolition. I tried to call the number, but there was no reply and the phone itself appears to have been switched off. I couldn’t track it at all.” 

“So that’s a dead end now instead of a loose end. Damn. I don’t suppose you and Rhys found anything else out in Llanrhidian, Gwen?” 

“Apart from the fact that the locals are sure that our white van men aren’t Welsh, not much.” Gwen chewed her lower lip slightly before coming up with a question that no-one seemed to be expecting, as they all looked at her with blank faces. “Jack, have there been any more reports of dead weevils?” 

“No -” Jack frowned, but he was glad that Gwen was thinking like a policewoman. It gave them an added edge, as she could be relied on to think of the more pragmatic questions, whereas the rest of them focused on the extraordinary. 

“Anyone else apart from me think that’s odd?”

“Well we got the last two. They know we’re onto them. Maybe they’ve changed their MO?” postulated Owen.

“Maybe, but I don’t think so. What if we were meant to find them?” Gwen was becoming more insistent now. She felt she was onto something important. “What if they were put out to get our attention?”

“Who d’ya call if you find a weevil in South Wales?” Jack posed the question to his team, his eyebrows raised.

“Not fucking Ghostbusters…” Owen surmised.

“Exactly. Us,” Tosh agreed. “Perhaps Gwen has something, maybe we were meant to find those weevils.”

Jack frowned and pulled up a map of the area on the screen.

“One body turns up on Sunday. The next is dumped on Monday. Along with Ianto for that matter. We pick up both weevils and since then there haven’t been any more. Evans could have let Copley, or whoever, know that we’d taken the bait, if that is indeed what it was.” Jack looked around the table, meeting the eyes of each member of his team. “I had a suspicion this was personal before. Now I’m even more convinced.”

“Copley has got to be the key. He’s the link,” Owen stated adamantly. “We’ve got to find that bastard.”

“Agreed. Tosh and Owen looks like you’ve got your work cut out. Ianto is working on tracking down possible locations for the unit that Yvonne Hartman set up. Gwen and I shall be going up to London. I need to check out some sites used by Torchwood One. If we can get a lead to the labs that Copley was working out of, that may lead us to him. Ianto suggested we start with the Biochemical Research labs.”

“Didn’t you shut them down?” Owen looked puzzled. He thought that Jack had made sure all of the facilities used by Torchwood One had been put out of commission. 

“There were labs offsite as well. Ianto has given me some codes that might get us in.”

“London? What? Now?” Gwen asked, looking a bit shocked. “Are we heading off straight after this meeting?”

“Yes, Gwen. I just want to stop in to see Ianto before we leave. Let him know what’s going on.”

“OK, Jack. I just need to call Rhys.” Gwen pulled her phone from her pocket and headed out of the boardroom to let Rhys know she wouldn’t be home anytime soon. 

“Right – back to the lab for us, Tosh.”

“Those extracts should be ready for the next stage of the purification process.”

“Hey, good work you two. Whatever you need, just get it. UNIT owe us a favour or two – call them on it if you have to. Maybe see if Martha is available yet?”

“Of course, Jack.”

“Owen – keep an eye on Ianto. He’s not feeling as well as he’s making out.”

“I know.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The weekend traffic was building up on the M4 and Jack wasn’t a patient driver at the best of times. Ideally, he wanted to get to London and back in the same day. It was at times like this that he really hated the Doctor for disabling the teleport function in his wrist strap. He’d had this unwelcome, hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach when he’d kissed Ianto goodbye, a need to make it one to remember, just in case. That scared the shit out of him; the mere notion that Ianto may not be around when he got back to Cardiff was frightening in the extreme.

Gwen’s babbling was doing nothing to help. He’d caught references to Spain, her wedding, Rhys, weevils, Nostrovites and then something about wedding photos. He hadn’t really been paying much attention to what she’d been saying, but then they hit the tailback on the outskirts of London at the interchange between the M4 and M25 and they ground to a halt. The weather had turned nasty, matching his mood, and the sound of the wipers sweeping across the windscreen seemed louder once they’d stopped moving. The pounding of rain on the roof of the SUV was relentless, a bit like his passenger, he thought uncharitably. 

Then just when Jack’s patience was at breaking point, Gwen picked her moment to turn in her seat and give Jack one of her fierce interrogative glares, the sort that couldn’t be ignored. She was rewarded by Jack looking in her direction and giving her a look that demanded that she say what was on her mind.

“Spit it out, Gwen. What do you want to know now?”

“There’s one thing I still don’t get. Why on earth did Ianto go down to the Gower by himself, with no back up? I get it that Tosh had to go to Wiltshire and Owen had to stay in the Hub to finish the autopsies – but where were you, Jack? Why the hell did you let him go on his own? Where were you?”

“Where I was is none of your damn business. Don’t you think I’m blaming myself enough already without you sending me on a guilt trip?” Jack couldn’t believe that she’d managed to rile him so much. What made it worse was that he couldn’t storm off and remove himself from the conversation, not whilst he was stuck in a car with her in the middle of a traffic jam. 

“Come on. You can tell me, Jack. Where were you?” Gwen’s ability to read body language eluded her, as far as she was concerned she had Jack cornered and he’d have to talk to her. “Where did you get to after my wedding?” 

“Gwen, drop it! I haven’t even told Ianto where I was and believe me, if anyone deserves to know, it’s him, not you!”

The rest of their journey into the centre of London was completed in silence. Jack fixed his attention on the road, and nothing else, while Gwen gazed out of the window, wondering why Jack’s words had upset her as much as they had.


	31. Chapter 31

Fortunately, the atmosphere in the Hub was more cordial than it was in the SUV. 

Owen and Tosh were working well together as a team extracting and purifying the various components of Jack’s blood. They’d reached the point where they had to isolate the actual active constituents and carry out controlled trials with samples of Ianto’s blood to make sure that it would bring about the production of an immune response that would target the H1N1Z3. 

They also had to make sure that it would not result in any healthy tissues being attacked. This stage would need at least twenty-four hours to run to completion, a whole day before Owen would even consider risking it on Ianto directly. He’d already complained that normal drug testing took years not days to ensure its safety, only for Tosh to point out in no uncertain terms that Ianto probably only had days. 

They had also discussed the possibility of the medication that Owen was using on Ianto, the ACE inhibitors and ARB drugs, actually interfering with any treatment derived from Jack’s blood. The outcome of that discussion was the requirement for even more trials, in the presence and absence of those medications. Only then would it be possible to know whether or not it would be necessary to clear Ianto’s body of those drugs. If they had to take that course of action, they could only hope the extracted chemicals from Jack’s blood kicked in before a cytokine storm caused irreparable damage to his lungs and other organs. 

Owen was glad to have the assistance of a fellow scientist working alongside him, someone able to understand what he was doing and not a layman demanding simplified explanations every ten minutes. He was secretly pleased that Jack had taken Gwen with him to London, he hadn’t looked forward to discussing with either of them all the potential problems that surrounded this particular course of action. 

The Hub was certainly a calmer place without Gwen’s histrionics and Jack’s dramatics. Owen looked across to where Tosh was sitting at her workstation sipping coffee whilst she worked through a number of searches on her computer. He was going to suggest she take a proper break, go out and get something to eat maybe. However, before he could say anything, the peace was shattered by the shrill ringing of the phone.

Tosh got to it first and was surprised to hear the police on the other end reporting a possible weevil attack. It was, of course, standard procedure for Torchwood to be alerted in any case of weevil activity. She mouthed the word ‘weevil’ to Owen and in response to his whispered question ‘dead?’ she just shook her head. Trust Gwen to have jinxed them by asking about weevils before she left.

“Could you confirm those details?” Tosh asked, frowning. “Two fatalities. Occupants of a white Transit van. Throats ripped out. Between junctions 33 and 34 on the M4. On the westbound carriageway. Thanks. We’ll be there as soon as we can. Just keep the area cordoned off and make sure your officers wait there until we arrive.”

“What’s that, Tosh? A weevil attack outside of the city?” Owen was shaking his head, not understanding what this could mean. “Doesn’t make sense. They move around in sewers. Weevils don’t use the motorway.” 

“Owen – there’s a Transit van involved and two dead men. Presumably from the van. Could it be the white van we’ve been looking for?” 

Tosh felt obliged to spell it out for Owen. She’d already figured out that this had to be the van that Ianto had seen in the Gower. The van that had forced him and Jack off the road.

“Oh shit! We need to get out there.” 

Owen was already running down to his area of the Hub to collect a medical kit, in case of any other causalities, weevil spray, sedatives and restraints to immobilize any weevil they did manage to capture.

“Owen? What about Ianto?” Tosh had stopped in her tracks to look up towards where Ianto had been cloistered away. She wasn’t happy about leaving him alone.

“He’ll understand. I’ll go talk to him. Here, take my keys-” Owen threw his car keys at Tosh, who plucked them out of the air and then tossed them straight back at him.

“Not your car, Owen. We can’t put a weevil in the back of a sports car!”

“Shit! Jack took the bloody SUV! Your car’s too small as well, unless we strap it to the roof rack-”

“What about Gwen’s? Her keys are probably still in her desk.” 

Tosh pulled open the drawer of Gwen’s desk and successfully found the keys, attached to a red dragon key ring. 

“Alright, sounds good to me. I’ll meet you out the front in a few minutes, after I’ve checked in on Ianto.”

“OK. Owen?” Tosh stopped in her tracks on her way to the garage to fetch Gwen’s car. “Shouldn’t we tell Jack?” 

“Fuck. He’ll go ballistic if he thinks we’re deserting Ianto, but if we don’t follow this up he’ll be mad as hell. Either way we can’t fucking win, so I suggest we wait for now and call him when we’ve found out something definite.”

“Owen! He’ll be furious if he finds out we’ve left Ianto on his own!”

“Let me deal with that. Let’s get going, the sooner we get out there, the sooner we’ll be back. Anyway, Jack and Gwen will probably be busy right now.”

Tosh dashed off, but he could see her shaking her head with misgivings. She was right of course, but they didn’t have any choice. 

Owen ran up the stairs to Jack’s office and as he threw open the door he could see Ianto sitting on the sofa, surrounded by scraps of paper, his lap top at his side. He was looking drained and pale, his arms wrapped around his chest and his feet up on the sofa. 

“You OK there, teaboy?” Owen could tell he was feeling sick, he looked as if he could barely keep his eyes open. The untouched plate of food that he’d brought up for Ianto earlier suggested that he’d lost his appetite. 

“Never better,” replied Ianto wearily. “ I put it down to the exceptional medical care I get here.” 

Owen tried not to frown as he could hear, from the hoarseness of Ianto’s voice, just how much he was suffering. 

“You’re most welcome. I’ll pass on your gratitude to the nursing staff. Umm… Tosh and I have to go out for a bit. There’s been a weevil attack. Looks like it might have been in transit literally – white van involved. Occupants sliced and diced by weevil.”

“A white Transit van?” Ianto sat up, his attention fully engaged.

“Yep. We think there’s a good chance it’s the same one.”

“Good –” 

Whatever else Ianto was going to say was lost in a coughing fit.

“And that sounds like a chest infection. I’ll give you some antibiotics for that before I go.”

“Don’t worry … it’s nothing.” 

“Liar. I’m giving you something for that whether you like it or not.” Owen reached into the medical kit he was carrying and pulled out a blister pack of penicillin tablets. “Here you go, tablets instead of more needles. Take two now and another two in four hours’ time if we’re not back by then. And make sure you drink plenty of water. You gonna to be OK on your own?”

“Yes, Owen. I love having the place to myself – may invite a few friends over … have a few beers… you know…” 

“Just as long as you clear up the mess before Jack gets home.”

“I always do.” 

“That would explain your fetish for cleaning products. Why don’t you have a lie down for a bit? Grab some sleep, you look like you could do with it.”

After knocking back the two antibiotic tablets and then gulping from the bottle of water that Owen offered him, Ianto stretched out on the sofa and lay his head down on a cushion. Although Owen had intended for him to go to bed, at least he was lying down and one look at him was enough to convince Owen that he wouldn’t stay awake for much longer.

“Warm enough? Or shall I get a blanket for you?”

“It’s warm in here. I’ll be fine. Enjoy the weevil hunt, see you later…” Ianto had closed his eyes and curled up on his side.

“For the record, we’re not hunting weevils the way you and Jack do!” 

“Trust me, Owen, no-one hunts weevils the way we do…” Ianto mumbled into the cushion, apparently on the verge of falling asleep, a slight smile on his lips. 

Owen shook his head in mock despair and gently stroked Ianto’s hair from his face, worried at the heat radiating from his skin. Despite his concerns for Ianto, he knew that they had to go out and deal with a potential weevil on the loose and they were the only ones who could do it.

“Sweet dreams, teaboy.” 

As he left the office he felt a twinge of guilt at leaving Ianto alone, but he could hardly let Tosh go weevil hunting alone and it was a definitely a two-person job by the sounds of it. He just hoped to hell that Ianto would be OK, because if he wasn’t, there was a strong chance that Jack would kill him and make sure he stayed dead.


	32. Chapter 32

By the time that Jack and Gwen arrived at the old warehouse, in the east end of London, it was late afternoon. It was still raining heavily and there were deep puddles in the pot-holed surface of the back street. The area was quite run down and appeared deserted, most of the buildings were boarded up, including the one that Ianto had said contained the biochemistry labs. 

Gwen held on tightly to the arm rest as Jack threw the SUV around the pot holes before screeching to a halt parked half way on the pavement. 

“Lovely job parking there, Jack,” Gwen mumbled as she unbuckled her seat belt and leapt out onto the street. She made a dash for the back door to the building, but without any shelter it didn’t take long before her hair was plastered to her scalp.

Jack wandered over to join her, huddled into his great coat, the collar up to keep the rain from running down his neck. He grabbed hold of the massive padlock that secured the door. 

“Damn.” Jack took a few steps back and gestured for Gwen to move back as well.

“I don’t suppose you have a key that fits that?” 

“Yep. This works on all mechanical locks.” 

Jack pulled out his Webley from its holster and without any warning he shot the through the metal.

“Bloody hell, Jack, that’s dangerous! It could have ricocheted off and hit one of us!”

“Yeah, but it didn’t. Let’s get inside before we get completely soaked.” 

Jack kicked open the door and grabbed hold of Gwen’s arm dragging her inside with him.

“What is your problem?” Gwen growled, pulling her arm free from Jack’s grip.

“Gwen, we’re here for a reason. Any issues you have with me can wait until later.” 

“I’ll hold you to that. Let’s split up then. I’ll start on this floor and you can start at the top.”

Gwen took a torch from her pocket and switched it on, illuminating the darkened corridor. The windows were in the rooms lining the corridor, which meant the only light visible was confined to narrow strips at floor level.

“Fine by me,” said Jack as he disappeared in the direction of a stairwell.

The ceilings were high, which caused any sound they made to echo, but if the padlock on the door had been anything to go by, the building was probably empty. However, Jack and Gwen knew better than to make that assumption, so they advanced carefully along each floor, their firearms drawn and their senses attuned to pick up any sudden disturbances.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tosh parked behind the police car that was waiting on the hard shoulder, its blue lights flashing in the drizzle, reflected as blue splashes in the puddles on the road side. The overcast skies made it seem later than it was and the weather did not make the thought of stumbling through the woods looking for a weevil on the run very enticing.

However, Tosh and Owen didn’t hesitate in getting out of the car and making their way purposefully towards the policeman wearing a fluorescent waterproof jacket. Owen introduced themselves and they all walked across to the white van and the two bundles of tarpaulin positioned on the ground close to the opened rear doors of the van.

“What the hell happened here then?”

“Started off as your standard wet weather pile up. Car towing a caravan gets a burst tyre, skids across into the centre lane. Bunch of kids in a Mini run straight into the back of the caravan. Then another four vehicles smash into them. Road was closed for over an hour and we were dealing with casualties and recovery vehicles. That’s when the prats in the van drive up on the hard shoulder, honking their horn as if they were in some almighty hurry.”

“So you lot were already here before this happened?” Owen asked. He’d assumed they’d been called out to the scene of the attack.

“About half a mile from here. We didn’t see for ourselves what happened, but there were plenty of witnesses. They reckon the van pulled over sharpish and a bloke got out and went round the back and flung open the doors. Next thing they knew he was having a fight with some creature. There was blood everywhere – that’s when the other bloke got out and by all accounts, he got the same treatment.”

“Bloody hell – loads of witnesses saw this?” Owen frowned, wondering if they had enough retcon with them. “I don’t s’pose you’ve got their details?”

“Funny you should ask – yes we have. Figured it was a Torchwood job so we took names and addresses. It’s well known how keen you lot are on chasing up witnesses.”

“Thank you, we do appreciate it.” Tosh smiled at the policeman. “We do like to be thorough when it comes to checking on witness accounts.” 

Tosh was certain that the police knew that they wiped the memories of anyone who saw anything connected with cases they pursued, yet by common agreement it was never acknowledged. 

“Bodies?” Owen prompted, looking at the heaps on the ground.

“We kept them covered and in position. Not a pretty sight. The young lady might not want to look.”

“I’ve got a tough stomach, trust me. Not as delicate as I look.” Tosh crouched down to the ground to lift the covers off the first body. “OK, this one had his throat ripped out.” 

“Yep, and this one has severe injuries to his face, neck and chest. Probable cause of death would be blood loss and shock,” Owen stated succinctly as he examined the other body. “Right mate, if you lot could get these bagged and transferred to Cardiff Royal Infirmary we’ll arrange for them to be autopsied in due course. Are the keys in the van?”

“Yes. But I’ll need authorisation if you want to take it with you. I could arrange for it to be towed back for you if you ask nicely.”

“That would be bloody fantastic, mate. That allows us to concentrate on tracking down the creature that did this.”

“Rather you than me. I saw what that thing did to those blokes. Poor buggers didn’t stand a chance.”

“Trust me, if you knew what we knew about those men you wouldn’t be quite so sympathetic,” Tosh said sharply. She couldn’t help thinking they’d deserved to be attacked and she knew that Owen was in total agreement with her.

“Yeah. I couldn’t give a fucking toss for what happened to them. They brought it on themselves.” 

The policeman took one look at the odd couple in front of him. The petite looking Japanese woman, who seemed quite sweet until she made it clear she had no qualms about the bloodshed she’d witnessed. Next to her, the scrawny looking Londoner with a foul mouth. He decided to leave them to their pursuit of the savage creature that taken apart two well built men.

Watching the bemused policeman jog back to his car, Owen turned to Tosh to see if she agreed with his idea of what had happened. 

“It looks to me like they’d got a drugged weevil in the back of the van, taken from Cardiff. When they got stuck in the tail-back from the accident, the sedative must have worn off.”

“Yes, and now we just need to locate one very pissed off weevil and get it to surrender.”

Tosh pointed towards the remains of footprints in the mud alongside the hard shoulder. They disappeared into the wooded hillside. She’d taken out her gun, as had Owen. There was shelter from the rain as they walked under the trees, although the effect of water dripping from overhanging branches wasn’t much better. Tosh’s hair was wet through and strands stuck to her face, but she ignored the discomfort as she stepped carefully through the leaf litter, doing her best to avoid breaking twigs underfoot. 

Owen was sniffing the air and turning his head from side to side slowly, as if listening out for something that was beyond the realms of normal hearing. He came to a standstill and used his gun to point towards a thicket of bramble and hawthorn. The undergrowth was thick and easily capable of hiding a weevil. He then wrinkled his nose once more before indicating to Tosh that she should approach from the opposite direction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Jack!” Gwen hissed into her Bluetooth. “This floor. I’ve found the office!”

Jack abandoned his search and rushed down the stairs to find Gwen standing outside a door with a security panel attached. He moved her to one side and then tapped out the code that Ianto had given him. The sequence of numbers and letters that should have released the locking mechanism. Only it didn’t. 

“Shit!” he exclaimed. He knew he could rely on Ianto’s memory, which could only mean one of two things: he’d copied it out wrong, or someone had been there since and changed the code. “I’ll call Ianto, check I got the right code and see if he’s got any suggestions.”

Gwen stood nearby and couldn’t help but notice Jack’s worried expression.

“I’m not getting an answer. Come on, Ianto, pick up the phone. Come on – talk to me…”

“He might be resting, Jack. Why don’t you call Owen or Tosh if you’re worried?”

“Good idea. I’ll try Tosh.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The harsh sound of Tosh’s phone ringing in her pocket caused the weevil to be startled and before she knew what was happening the creature hurtled out of cover and pushed her into the mud and dead leaves. Her gun went flying and the weevil spray was knocked from her hand.

“Shit!”

“Tosh!” 

She rolled over out of the way of its teeth and grabbed hold of a large branch, which she used to whack the weevil on the head. Slipping in the mud she lost her footing and ended up on the ground. Nervously backing away from the angered weevil that was advancing on her, baring its teeth, she thought she was finished. It was at that moment that Owen appeared in front of her, blocking the weevil. She panicked, worried that if Owen incurred any injuries he wouldn’t recover from them. But her anguish turned to awe as she saw the weevil drop to its knees, almost docile. It seemed that it was either worshipping or afraid of Owen. Maybe both.


	33. Chapter 33

Tosh slipped her hand into her pocket to switch off her phone, which had started ringing again. She moved slowly, yet surely, not wanting to draw any more attention to herself. The weevil had backed off and was now virtually cowering, but she still didn’t trust it. She was certain she’d heard a low growling sound that seemed to have come from Owen and that confused her. However, his attention was focused on the weevil and, from where she was sitting, it looked as though he was actually approaching it.

“Owen…” she whispered.

“Shhh!” 

Owen was now closing in on the weevil, the canister of weevil spray in the palm of his hand, ready to use. 

“When I say ‘run’, get the hell out of here, just in case this all goes tits up.” 

Owen spoke quietly, yet Tosh understood immediately what he was going to attempt and even if she thought it was foolish, she felt obliged to let him try. However, she looked across to where her gun lay in the leaf litter and decided that she’d make a grab for it when she made her move. 

“Run!” 

In a blur of movement, Owen dashed forward, tackling the weevil and rolling over with it amongst the mud and dead leaves. Tosh got hold of her weapon and ran back to a safe distance where she stood firm, holding the gun two-handed. Unfortunately, there was too much movement and not enough light to get a definite fix on anything to aim at and she didn’t want to hit Owen. Muddy water flew out in all directions as Owen finally managed to pin the weevil to the ground, its arms twisted behind its back as he squirted it in the face with the sedative spray. 

“Fuck!” exclaimed Owen, as he found himself lying in a puddle wrapped around a stinking weevil and coated from head to toe in muck and detritus. 

“You OK?” asked Tosh.

“I thought I told you to run? Bloody hell, doesn’t anyone do as I say anymore?” 

“Sorry.” 

Tosh moved to stand next to Owen, her gun now aimed at the weevil just in case it came round. 

“You look almost as filthy as I do,” Owen observed as he sat back on his heels. He grinned as he checked out Tosh, her usual immaculate attire soaking wet and spattered with mud, her trousers sodden and clinging to her legs. He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but he found himself quite taken with the dishevelled look, if only he still had a circulation, he thought wistfully. 

Tosh pulled a set of cuffs from her pocket and handed them to Owen.

“You can have the honour of restraining that weevil before we get it in the back of the car.”

As soon as Owen had cuffed the weevil, he hauled it along the slippery track back towards the car. He didn’t want Tosh handling it. As they neared the car, Owen burst out laughing.

“Gwen’s going to fucking kill us when she sees the state of her car.” 

“What’s wrong with it?” Tosh was puzzled, she couldn’t see any damage and wondered what Owen meant.

“Nothing yet, but I don’t think her upholstery will ever be the same. Not after we get in, covered in mud. As for our fragrant friend who we’re giving a lift to-.”

“Oh yes. Ooops?” Tosh tried to imagine Gwen’s reaction and then shuddered involuntarily. It wasn’t going to be pretty.

They shoved the weevil onto the back seat. Then opened all the windows to improve ventilation and to prevent the windscreen from steaming up.

“Tosh? Your phone was ringing. Who was it?”

“I don’t know. I turned it off.” Tosh pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Hang on I’ll just check.”

It didn’t take long for her to work out who it had been. One irate voicemail that caused her to hold the phone several inches from her ear, and two text messages. All from Jack. Owen winced as he also worked out who’d been trying to get in touch.

“Oh shit. I think the game’s up, Owen. Jack tried to call Ianto at the Hub and couldn’t get an answer. Then he tried my phone and I hung up. He’s probably spitting blood by now if these messages are anything to go by.”

“Bugger. Let me guess. He’s decided that Ianto’s taken a turn for the worse and we don’t want to tell him.”

“Close enough. Where’s your phone by the way? He’s also pissed off that you weren’t picking up either.”

“Oh yeah,” Owen winced. “It must be in my other jacket. I grabbed an old one on the way out of the Hub, figuring it was still pissing down with rain.”

“We’d better call him back. Own up to what we’ve been up to.”

“OK – give me the phone. I’ll take the rap for this, if you want to drive us back.”

As Tosh took the wheel and pulled out onto the motorway, Owen called Jack.

“Jack? It’s Owen,” Owen instantly held the phone away from his ear until Jack stopped yelling at him. Jack let him know just what he thought about irresponsible employees who didn’t bother letting him know what the hell they were doing. 

“I told you he wasn’t happy,” muttered Tosh, as she put her foot down. She’d deal with speeding fines later.

“Yeah, sorry about that, Jack. We were busy. Me and Tosh had a weevil to catch. Looks like the blokes who kidnapped Ianto took on a weevil too many. Yeah – they had it in the back of their van. Got stuck in traffic and it woke up. When they pulled over to sort it out, it got the better of them. Yeah, they’re both dead. And, you know what? I couldn’t give a flying fuck-”

“Tell him we’re on our way back now,” Tosh interrupted. She figured that maybe Jack would calm down if he knew they were en route to Cardiff.

“Anyway, we’re on our way back to the Hub now, with the weevil. When did we leave? It was still light… no more than three hours ago I suppose…. No, he was fine. Really. I swear… He was sleeping when we left, that’ll be why he didn’t pick up the phone. Yeah, we’re on our way back to Cardiff now. We’ll see you later.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ianto had slipped into an uneasy slumber. His dreams haunted by images of Jack and Gwen dancing at her wedding. However, in his dreams he didn’t summon the courage to break in on the dance. He just watched them as they drew closer and closer. Everyone’s eyes were on Jack and Gwen. They made the perfect couple. 

Rhys was drinking heavily at the bar. Double whiskies maybe. Next to him at the bar were Owen and Tosh, also mesmerised by the sight of Gwen pressed tightly against Jack’s body as he swept her across the dance floor. Jack’s arm wrapped about Gwen’s waist. Gwen’s hand grasping Jack’s tightly over his heart. Jack’s lips on her hair, Gwen’s mouth on his neck. It was too much, Ianto had to look away.

Despite the heat in the room, which was overwhelming and had most of the guests in their shirt sleeves, he shivered. And he dared not move, dared not look up. He knew that one glance at Jack and Gwen gazing into each other’s eyes, or at him, would cause his frozen heart to shatter into a million pieces. Then they would dance on the shards and grind them into dust under their feet… 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Jack? What’s going on?” Gwen was leaning against the wall of the corridor, waiting for Jack to give up his futile attempts to get in touch with anyone at the Hub.

“Tosh and Owen got called out to deal with a weevil. They’ve found the white van and the guys that grabbed Ianto. They’re dead – weevil got to them before I could.” 

Jack didn’t add that he was angry that they’d left Ianto on his own back at the Hub. Despite Owen’s attempts at reassurance, Jack was far from appeased. He was also angry that he’d not been kept in the loop. That seemed to be happening a lot recently and it meant he’d have to reassert his authority.

“Ianto?” Gwen asked tentatively. 

“He was asleep when they left. That would explain why there’s been no answer at the Hub.”

“So what are we going to do about this door? You can’t shoot your way through a security lock.”

“No, but I can always try this. Hold my torch?” He passed his torch to Gwen and then pushed his sleeve back, brandishing his wrist strap at the electronic device securing the door.

“Is there anything that thing can’t do?” Gwen asked in what could easily be mistaken as a flirtatious manner.

“You’d be amazed at what it used to be able to do.” Jack raised his eyebrows, knowing she’d never believe him if he told her without proof. 

After a few moments, Jack managed to select the right combination to get the lock to spring open.

“Very impressive.” Gwen smiled in response to Jack’s smug grin. 

“After you-” 

The office did not look as if it had been deserted for a couple of years. Instead it appeared to have been recently cleared out. The dust had been disturbed recently, there were footprints on the floor that weren’t theirs. Gwen went through the filing cabinet one drawer at a time, unsurprised to find each one emptied, not even a hanging file left in place. Jack tackled the desk in a less methodical manner, pulling out drawer after drawer and hurling them to the floor as he found nothing by a few paper clips and a bottle of Tippex. 

“Ever get the feeling that someone is just one step ahead?” Jack asked Gwen, his hands spread out flat on the top of the desk.

“It doesn’t make sense, Jack. How on earth would they know we’d be looking here?”

“Someone who knows we’re onto them. Which means we’re getting close.”

Jack moved across the office to an internal door that opened into an adjoining laboratory. He was curious and peered inside, his torch picking out jumbled items of glassware lying scattered on bench tops as they reflected the beam. He walked inside and headed for a fridge freezer that stood at the far end of the lab, its doors swinging open. 

“It would seem that whoever was working in the labs left a while ago. There’s mould inside this fridge. It’s been switched off a long while. So there must have been something left in the office that someone came back for.”

“So what next? There must be other buildings that belonged to Torchwood One that we should investigate.”

“I was kinda hoping Ianto could give us a clue which ones to go for next.”

“Try to call him again. Maybe he’s awake now.”

“Yeah, I think I will.” Jack nodded his head, hoping Gwen was right. “I’ll just step out into the corridor…better signal…”

Gwen watched as he moved away from her, slightly put out that he wanted to speak to Ianto in private. Her head understood that need, but something inside her knotted up with an emotion she refused to acknowledge. She wondered if Jack would suggest staying overnight in London so they could continue their search in the morning. The weather was still awful so it would make sense. She was sure that Rhys would understand. 

Jack was frowning as he came back to join her. 

“Still nothing.” 

“Tosh and Owen will get back to the Hub soon. He’ll be fine. Probably fast asleep – poor lamb looked exhausted when I saw him.” 

Jack didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. His face spoke volumes. Worry lines were traced across his features. Then he looked up suddenly and headed towards the corner of the office. 

“Hang on a minute. Back of the filing cabinet – stuff always slips down the back – come and help me shift it!”

Jack held the heavy metal fining cabinet tilted forward so that Gwen could scoot around and reach out for the collection of crumpled pieces of paper that had been there for years by the looks of the cobwebs and dust that coated them.

“You were right, there’s all sorts of paperwork down here. Ugh, and spiders!”

“Grab it all, so I can put this damn thing back.”

Gwen dumped the bundle of papers onto the nearest clear surface. Quickly discarding envelopes, Jack flashed a triumphant grin when they eventually came across a letter.

“Oh yes! This is it – has to be!”

It was a letter signed by Philip Copley. A requisition for chemicals needed for the Biomedical Research facility. 

“Any address on it?”

“A PO Box number. Shit – it’s in Cardiff!” 

“You’re kidding!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back in Wales, Tosh and Owen were approaching the outskirts of Cardiff. It was dark and the headlights from cars were reflecting on the wet road surface. Owen had tried to call Ianto several times and not got a reply. Tosh suggested that maybe he was just sleeping, but Owen was no longer convinced. They’d been gone a few hours, Ianto should not still have been asleep.


	34. Chapter 34

“Cardiff? That makes no sense!”

“Think, Gwen. This was a department specialising in exploiting alien species. The Rift is a portal through which aliens drop through all the damn time. The most common being weevils. So where better to base your operations?”

“I suppose that would make sense. We can run checks on the PO Box number, see if we can trace who it was registered to… So where next?”

“Home. I’m worried about Ianto and shouldn’t you be pining for your new husband?”

“I just thought maybe whilst we were here in London, we should hang about and check the other Torchwood One locations, you know.” Gwen could tell from the expression on Jack’s face that he wasn’t in the least bit enthused by that suggestion.

“Oh yes, Ms Cooper and where were you intending to sleep? Back of the SUV? Or did you think maybe we could find a room?” Jack raised one eyebrow and was pleased to see Gwen’s embarrassed reaction before she grabbed the piece of paper he’d been holding and dashed out into the corridor where it was too dark to see her blush. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was not an easy job manoeuvring an unconscious weevil out from Gwen’s car and into the containment area close to the garage, but Owen managed it, eventually placing it into a cell away from the other weevils just in case it was infected with the virus. He collected a blood sample before leaving the cell. It didn’t appear as if the weevil was infected, but he didn’t want to take any chances. 

Entering the Hub from the lower levels he found Tosh, looking up towards Jack’s office.

“I’ll go up and see how he’s feeling. How about you? How are you doing, Tosh?”

“To be honest with you, I could really do with a shower.” 

Tosh leaned against her desk and was indeed looking thoroughly bedraggled. Mud-stained and nothing like her usual pristine self.

They were both in need of cleaning up. There was no way they could do any more lab work as dirty as they were. The risk of introducing contaminants was far too high. 

“Me too.” Owen may no longer be alive in the conventional sense of the word, but he didn’t appreciate smelling like shit. 

“On my own, thank you.” Tosh had pushed away from the wall and was making her way towards the shower block.

“Well, I was going to offer to help wash your back. Clean the mud out of those difficult to reach places - but if you can resist my selfless offer -”

Just before she disappeared from sight Tosh looked around and winking at Owen she whispered:

“Another time …” 

Tosh smiled to herself as she left Owen speechless for once.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It looked as though Ianto was sleeping, but as Owen drew nearer he could tell that all was not well. The young Welshman looked tense rather than relaxed, he was obviously agitated and mumbling intelligibly. 

Owen couldn’t work out what he was saying but he was apparently in some distress. The only thing he could make out was Jack’s name. That didn’t surprise him, but he wondered at the plaintive intonation. It was as if he was pleading with Jack. 

The fact that Ianto was feverish and having trouble breathing again, meant that Owen needed to wake him up and give him something to bring his temperature down. 

“Ianto?” Owen took hold of one of Ianto’s arms and shook him gently at first and then with more force as he remained unresponsive. 

“Come on wake up, Ianto – wake up!”

Eventually Ianto’s eyes flickered open, yet he didn’t seem to be fully conscious of his surroundings. What worried Owen, apart from his slow reactions, was the sadness in his eyes.

“Where’s Jack?” he mumbled looking around the room as if something was missing.

“In London. With Gwen. Remember?”

Ianto shut his eyes tight.

“Ianto, I need to give you some more medicine,” Owen changed the subject, concerned at Ianto’s apparent confusion. “You OK?”

Without waiting for a response Owen pressed a few pills into Ianto’s hand, which the young man swallowed automatically, not even looking at them. The glass of water that Owen placed in his other hand was taken and gulped from without comment. 

“Tired?”

Ianto nodded once and then rolled onto his side facing into the back of the sofa. This time Owen picked up the blanket, that had fallen to the floor, and draped it over him carefully. The complete lack of snarky comments, or facetious remarks was far more worrying than the raised temperature and noisy breathing. Owen was seriously concerned that Ianto seemed to be giving up the fight. He had to call Jack.

On his way to the shower block to clean up, before getting on with any lab work, Owen grabbed his phone from the jacket he’d left at his desk.

“Jack? You coming back tonight or not? … he’s not doing so well, but I think your company might make him feel better… bad enough … feverish… no I am not trying to lay a guilt trip on you, you over-sensitive twat! Just get your arse back here as soon as you can without clocking up too many speeding offences. Yeah I’ll be here … not going anywhere, got work to do.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If there had been any uncertainty about whether to return directly to Cardiff or to stay longer in London, it was dispelled by Owen’s phone call. There was no way that they weren’t getting back to Cardiff as quickly as possible. 

Once they’d run the gauntlet of tackling the roads through central London on a Friday night, they found the M4 mercifully light on traffic. Jack got in the fast lane and stayed there, maintaining high enough speeds to scare anything else out of their way. The spray in their wake obscuring their number plates in case anyone was thinking of reporting them. 

Despite Jack’s driving, Gwen was so exhausted that she still managed to doze off. Her head had fallen against his left shoulder and her hand was resting on his thigh. Jack’s coat had been thrown onto the back seat, too wet and heavy for driving any distance comfortably. Jack could feel Gwen’s warm breath on his arm. It was slow and deep, indicating that she was fast asleep.

A glance down at her face showed her lips curved up in a smile. Whatever she was dreaming of was giving her cause to be happy. Jack was pleased to see her so relaxed and content, that was until he heard her whisper his name sleepily. Then she squirmed in her sleep, apparently entering a less pleasant aspect of her dream, her forehead creased into a frown which Jack didn’t see as he was focused on the road in front of them. 

Gwen became more agitated, which was distracting Jack from his driving, so he had no choice but to nudge her gently and then a little more roughly until she woke up.

“Bad dream?”

“What? Sorry, didn’t realise I’d dropped off.” Gwen removed her hand from Jack’s leg, hoping she hadn’t let it stray in her sleep. 

“You were having a dream. Something in it was bothering you. I had to wake you up before you started thrashing around and had us going off the road.”

“My wedding – um… the reception, you were there, and Rhys – of course! We were dancing. You and me that is, and … oh I can’t remember the rest.” 

Gwen sat back in her seat, reluctant to tell Jack about the next part of the dream that she did recall. The part where she’d looked over to see Rhys and Ianto at the bar, both of them staring at her and Jack with disappointment in their eyes. It had left her with such mixed emotions, she’d felt like a princess in her white wedding dress, cradled in Jack’s arms, yet the heartbroken looks on the faces of the two Welshmen left her devastated. She couldn’t bear the hurt and pain she could see there. 

“Jack?” Gwen asked out loud. “Can I ask you about your relationship with Ianto?”

“I guess that depends on what you’re asking. You can ask, but I might not answer.”

“Why him?”

Jack stole a glance at Gwen and was all too aware of the unspoken ‘and not me’.

“Let me ask you a question first and then I’ll answer yours. OK?”

“OK.”

“Why Rhys? Why did you marry him? What do you see in him?”

“Oh, so many reasons. To start with he’s devoted to me. He’d do absolutely anything for me. I don’t think I could have a more loyal friend. Rhys makes me smile. He’s always there for me at the end of the day, no matter what crap the bloody rift throws at us.”

Gwen felt affection swelling in her chest for her husband as she thought of everything he did for her. As she closed her eyes and saw his gentle smile, the one he saved for her, it was only too clear in her mind exactly why she had chosen to be with him. 

“And, you know what, Jack? That man loves me more than anyone else in the whole world.”

Jack grinned – her answer was perfect.

“You know what Gwen? Those would be exactly the same reasons why I’m with Ianto.”

“But …but I thought it was mainly a physical thing …?” Gwen was patently flabbergasted.

“It’s not. Never has been.” Jack’s clipped response made it clear that the conversation was over. 

“Oh.”

“Shall I drop you off at your flat?”

“Yes, that would be great. Thanks, Jack.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It felt as though the sofa had dipped down behind him and then a strong arm snaked its way about his waist, clutching him tight. Then a soft kiss was pressed to his neck, as the distinctive scent of Jack drifted over him, coaxing him into a more wakeful state. There was warm breath on his face as Jack curled around him, planting more kisses on bare skin, sending tingles of desire running through his veins despite the lethargy in his limbs. He stretched out and rolled over into Jack’s embrace, taken aback by the look in his eyes, a look he’d never seen there before, as if Jack was looking at him for the first time. Before he could say a word Jack placed a finger to his lips.

“It’s time you were in bed.”


	35. Chapter 35

Owen couldn’t help smiling as he watched Jack help Ianto sit up on the sofa and support him as they headed towards the bunker under his office. 

“What are you smiling at?” Tosh asked, looking in the direction that Owen was looking and seeing nothing.

“Me? Smiling? You must be seeing things, Tosh.” Owen shook his head vigorously, seriously concerned that he’d become sentimental since dying. As far as he was concerned, that was the last thing he needed. He couldn’t digest food, drink beer or have sex, but apparently he’d got soppier. It didn’t help that Tosh was grinning at him. What the bloody hell was he meant to do?

“Is there something you want to tell me, Owen?” Tosh asked coquettishly.

“Yeah, matter of fact, I do.” Owen grinned. “I’ve got the results from the weevil that got chewed up our white van guys. He was virus free.” 

“That suggests they were probably transporting it somewhere to be used.” Tosh pushed her glasses up her nose to focus on the screen in front of her. She brought up a map of the area in which the van had pulled off the road. 

“Well it couldn’t have been the same place they took Ianto to.” Owen scratched his head without thinking. “That’s been cordoned off by the police.” 

Owen shuddered, the buildings out in the wilds had reminded him of their encounter with rural cannibals. 

“Owen, I’ve been wondering why they would have taken the weevil, and Ianto for that matter, to an isolated farmhouse. Why do that?” 

“They were collecting blood. Perhaps their labs are somewhere that doesn’t have the facilities for holding patients?” Owen speculated. “Maybe the weevils were too feisty for them to control?”

“No, I don’t think that’s all there is to it.” Tosh shook her head, looking perturbed. “I wonder if, after Jack shut down the Pharm, there was still some unfinished research – possibly the genetically engineered virus – that somebody wanted desperately to get completed. They’d have had to improvise when the Pharm’s facilities were decommissioned.” 

Tosh was voicing thoughts that had been plaguing her all day. There had to be an answer to this – something that made sense of it all. She hated badly constructed puzzles that defied logical analysis. 

“You think that by destroying the main complex, we forced them to resort to extracting blood from infected weevils and hapless teaboys in remote locations? Then they had to transfer the blood to another location for purification?” 

“That would help to explain what we’ve got so far.” Tosh nodded her head, pleased that Owen could see what she was getting at.

“Shit. From what Jack said about that PO Box address, that lab could be on our fucking doorstep.”

“Yes - and if they don’t need to provide wards and medical facilities for patients, that means they could operate out of a far smaller establishment. Somewhere much easier to conceal.”

“Great – that means they could be operating almost anywhere.”

“We’ll find them, Owen. If they’re in Cardiff, I’ll find them.” 

Neither of them needed to say that the best person for finding anything in the city was currently too sick to do so. Both of them glanced up, towards Jack’s office. Owen put an arm around Tosh’s shoulders, giving her an awkward hug.

"I believe you, Tosh. Let’s work on that later. For now, we need to see what results we’ve got from those antibody trials we set up this morning. The sooner we find a way to get Ianto well again, the better. For all of us." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the bunker under his office, Jack had stripped both himself and Ianto down to their underwear. He’d helped Ianto into bed, not once losing some form of physical contact. It occurred to him that he communicated far better when he actually kept his mouth shut, so he endeavoured to do just that. 

Once in bed, Ianto had lain on his back, one arm flung over his eyes, not wanting Jack to see just how red they were. He gripped hold of the sheet with his other hand, hoping to control the shaking, screwing up the cool cotton into a clump that he could hold onto tightly.

“I hate feeling so bloody weak. I can’t remember the last time I had to be tucked up in bed.” Although Jack’s kindness was touching and his gentleness endearing, Ianto yearned for a fierce embrace that demanded to be met strength for strength. “It’s pathetic – I’m not exactly the type of company you want to be sharing your bed with-” 

“Looking good enough to me.” Jack tried to be reassuring as he lifted Ianto’s arm away from his face. Noting the watering of his companion’s eyes, he dabbed at them with a tissue he grabbed from the nightstand.

“Really?” Ianto rolled his eyes. “I bet it’s usually the women you bed that end up weepy and not the men.” 

Jack chose to ignore the fact that Ianto was talking in the present tense. A discussion about who he took to his bed and when was not one he wanted to have at that point in time.

“Hey there, I’ve been known to get weepy and emotional at times and no-one’s ever questioned my masculinity.” 

“Oh come on! Honestly, Jack, you can get away with it. You’re all fire and passion. I’ve seen you cry. Even your fucking tears are charged with testosterone. But me? Solid, dependable Ianto. Makes coffee, gets everything ready … no, I can’t get upset without coming across as a blubbering wreck.” 

“Ianto,” Jack sighed as he gently stroked Ianto’s chest, running his fingers through the soft hair, trying to soothe him. “It’s OK for you to express how bad you’re feeling-” 

“No it’s not. That’s the whole fucking point. I’m bloody useless right now – I couldn’t even cope with going through the paperwork. Can’t even make some notes. My head started spinning and the words just became a blur. You need someone you can rely on. Someone who can get out there in the field –”

“I need you. I need you fit and well again. Yes!” Jack leaned over Ianto and kissed him softly, slowly, with just a hint of why he wanted Ianto able-bodied again. “Although I will admit some of my reasons are purely selfish.” 

Ianto draped his arm around Jack’s neck and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. He felt the need to let Jack know that he wasn’t the only one who wished they could indulge in something a damn sight more physical. With a sigh, he broke the kiss and moved onto his side to face Jack.

“I’m sorry for being such a self-pitying bastard. It’s just that I feel trapped. You know I’ve hardly been outdoors since we went for a walk in the marshes –”

“You mean when we ended up taking shelter in that birdwatchers’ hide?” Jack couldn’t suppress a wicked smile at that particular memory. That had definitely been a new place for them both. He uncurled Ianto’s fingers from the knotted sheet and grasped his hand, pleased to note that Ianto had relaxed a little.

“Oh God, yes ...” Ianto sighed and shook his head wearily. “I need to get some fresh air. I haven’t seen daylight or felt the wind and rain on my face for days and I might not –”

“Hold that thought – you will get outside again.” Jack held onto Ianto’s shoulders firmly, desperate for his pledge to be one he could fulfil. “I swear to you that I will take you out in the damn rain and wind, and you won’t be moaning about the cold.” 

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Jack.” 

“I promise you this. Whether Owen finds a cure or not, I shall take you outside again.”

“Thank you.” Ianto’s eyes closed as he understood what Jack was saying and he was grateful.

“Come on now. You’re exhausted. You need to sleep.” 

Jack was aware of the fact that Ianto was forcing himself to stay awake by talking. It was as if he was afraid of falling asleep, but he could also tell how drained he was. He took hold of Ianto’s arm and pulled him over onto his own chest, wrapping his arm about the younger man’s shoulders. 

As Ianto rested his head on Jack’s chest, the sound of his heartbeat filled his mind as he found himself drifting off into a dreamless sleep. 

Jack held onto Ianto tightly, not wanting to let go for a moment. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So, what do you think? Is it working?” Tosh asked tentatively. 

“I’m not convinced. It’s obviously designed to work alongside physiological processes, which means that anything we’re observing in a test tube just isn’t comparable to how it would react in Ianto’s bloodstream.”

“Owen – you have to accept that we just haven’t got time for complete clinical trials.”

“I know that, it’s just that – fuck it! I’m looking for a bloody miracle and all we’ve got so far is a half-hearted magic trick. Yes, it does seem to have stimulated the production of antibodies to deal with virus in the blood plasma. It’s also managed to stimulate some effective killer T cells – that’s the trouble-”

“But that’s what we want isn’t it? Cytotoxic T cells that destroy infected tissues?”

“Oh yeah. These bastards are effective – too fucking effective, they’re ruthless –”

“Owen? Just what is the problem?” Tosh was frowning, she could tell that Owen had found out something far from satisfactory, but he was so pissed off that he was having trouble explaining it to her.

“Think of weapons. Ideally what we need is a precise, targeted weapon. One that brings about a surgical strike in effect. What we’ve got here is the immune system’s equivalent of a fucking great cannon ball. It takes no prisoners, which means it doesn’t just destroy the virus infected cells, but large areas of surrounding tissue – collateral damage on a potentially large scale. No doubt Jack’s body can take it. Specially with his speedy recovery properties. But Ianto isn’t quite so well prepared for what this will do.”

“What do we do? Is there any way of moderating its response?”

“Not in the time frame we’re working to – the clock’s ticking, Tosh and there’s fuck all I can do to slow it down. It’s all or nothing. We either take a risk with this or we watch him continue to deteriorate and die.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ianto had turned onto his side facing the wall, afraid of letting Jack see his face contorted in pain. He was comforted by the warmth that covered his back, proof that Jack wasn’t going anywhere, he was spooning himself around his back and holding onto him as if frightened to let go. 

Ianto was breathing shallowly, partly because his chest hurt when he took deep breaths and partly to quell the coughing fit that he could feel building up inside. He knew that one deep breath would set it off and although Owen had given him antibiotics, all they seemed to have done was bought him some time.

“You OK? You’re very quiet and I know you’re not sleeping.” Jack crawled even closer to Ianto. He spoke softly, letting Ianto know that he couldn’t fool him for much longer. “Your breaths are too fast and too shallow for that.” 

Ianto couldn’t answer out loud. He realised that it was going to be impossible to speak without taking that deep breath that would trigger his cough. He tried to nod in a convincing way, but Jack wasn’t buying it.

“Come on – speak to me. What is it? The truth, Ianto – tell me.”

Inadvertently Ianto took in a gulp of air, and that was all it took. He doubled over, coughing as his reflexes responded to the irritation in his lungs. He was vaguely aware of Jack pulling him into a sitting position, one arm about his shoulders supporting him as his eyes watered and his chest convulsed. 

Jack looked on in horror as tiny specks of blood appeared on the sheets beneath Ianto’s head. He recognised the signs. Lung damage was close to entering an irreparable phase. If they didn’t get a treatment for Ianto soon it would be too late. 

“Ianto, listen carefully. I need to get Owen – just stay like that sitting up, OK?” 

Jack propped Ianto up with extra pillows and pulled the duvet up over his chest. 

Pulling on his trousers and clambering up the ladder clutching a tee shirt, Jack ran out of his office and down the stairs towards where he could hear Owen and Tosh talking.

“Owen – get your ass up here now,” Jack called down from the gallery outside his room.

“What’s happened?” Owen demanded.

“It’s Ianto – he’s starting to cough up blood. Not much. But you’d damn well better have that treatment ready.”

“Shit! You need to listen to me, Jack. Yes, we’ve isolated the agents from your blood that will trigger an immune reaction that will wipe out the virus and any infected cells-”

“Great – what are you waiting for then? Just give it to him!”

“It’s not that simple. Like any immune response, the side effects are likely to be worse than the actual symptoms of the disease. It might do more harm than good. But from what you say, it’s our last resort. There’s nothing else I can do for him.”

“So the cure won’t work?” Jack looked to Tosh, who was sitting there, biting her lip anxiously.

“It will rid him of the virus,” Tosh explained. “But it might have as bad an effect as the potential cytokine storm that we’ve been trying to avoid. There’s no way of telling – this is something completely new. All we have to go on is that it works for you. And to be honest, you’re not exactly the average man-”

“Damn!”

“What’s it to be Jack? Are you willing to risk it?” 


	36. Chapter 36

Jack pinched the bridge of his nose and slowly shook his head. 

“It’s not my call to make. It’s gotta be up to Ianto.”

“I guess you’re right,” Owen agreed. “If it’s alright with you Jack, I’ll go see how he’s doing and explain the situation. Ask him what he wants to do. OK?”

“Thanks, Owen. Tell him that whatever he decides… I’ll support him.”

“Yeah. I’ll tell him that.” Owen grabbed the hand-held scanner and his medical kit, leaving Jack with Tosh.

“Jack, I’m sorry we didn’t have any better news for you,” Tosh said nervously as Jack started to pace between her desk and Owen’s. “But there is a chance that it will work out fine-”

“Maybe. But I’ve got a really bad feeling in my gut about this.” Jack stopped in his tracks to lean on the back of Owen’s abandoned chair.

Jack realised that he was letting his despondent mood get the better of him and that he had to be more positive, for Ianto and for the rest of the team. It occurred to him that he’d not seen Tosh go home and he was concerned that she’d been working non-stop.

“Tosh? It’s gotta be late. Shouldn’t you be getting home?”

“What? No! It’s Saturday morning – nine thirty. Owen and I kept working for a while after you took Ianto to bed. Then once we figured out what had happened with the trials we ran yesterday, I went home. I got in about an hour ago. We just took one more set of readings to confirmed what we discovered last night.”

“Damn – I must have slept through,” exclaimed Jack, genuinely shocked that he’d lost track of time. “I never do that!”

“Jack, you’ve worn yourself out with worry. Not to mention the fact that you have hardly stopped all week. It’s not surprising. Not really.”

“Tosh, I don’t know what I’ll do if he doesn’t make it.”

Jack’s honest admission of his fears struck Tosh as completely out of character and she stood up from her seat and took hold of Jack’s hands and squeezed them tightly.

“You mustn’t think that way. It’s not you, Jack. You always hold onto hope. Be a leader now. Tell us what to do. We’re willing and able to take on whatever you throw at us right now. Come on, let’s not waste any more time.”

“Thank you, Tosh.” Jack smiled at his friend. He appreciated the verbal kick up the backside that Tosh could administer without once raising her voice. She was right of course, he should gather the team and sort out a plan of action. “Gwen should be in by now. Has she been in touch?”

“She’s over at the police car pound. Checking out the Transit van and the other cars. Collecting evidence and samples for us to analyse.”

“Oh. I didn’t ask her to do that-”

“I know. She called in earlier, wanting to talk to you. Owen told her you were still asleep. Then he told her she should check out the van on her way in.”

“He did? Sounds like he’s after my job-”

“What? Getting Gwen to pull her weight?” asked Tosh benignly. “Jack, he was buying you time with Ianto. Make the most of it. We’re not likely to see him this benevolent again any time soon.” 

Tosh could tell by the way Jack kept looking over his shoulder that he was keen to return to Ianto’s side. 

“I’ll get on with this, shall I?” Tosh pointed at her lap top, indicating that she had work to get back to.

“Sure. I’ll just go see how Owen’s getting on.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Jack re-entered his office, he found Owen waiting for him, sitting in the chair across from his desk.

“What did he say?”

“He said we should go ahead with it. He’s fully aware of possible side effects. He said he wants to talk to you first – something about getting some fresh air?”

“Oh yeah. He’s desperate to get outside for a while. How long do you think it will take before he feels any effects of the treatment?”

“Honestly? I haven’t a fucking clue. But, if he gets through the first half hour or so without any catastrophic reactions, I expect it’ll be a few hours before anything obvious makes itself known. You really thinking of taking him out of the Hub?”

“I promised him. Thought maybe I could take him out for a drive?”

“Well, whatever that immune-booster of yours will do to him, it will inactivate the virus, so he won’t be infectious any more. I’ve no idea how it does it – but no matter what delivery method we used, it reduced viral activity in infected blood to minimal levels within an hour.”

“Really?” asked Jack, impressed. “Then I can take him out safely?”

“Safe for other people,” Owen stated emphatically. “As for him – I can’t say. I suggest you stay within range so I can get to you fast if I need to.”

“OK. So no drives into the countryside. I’ll go with that.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Owen had given Ianto an intramuscular injection, containing what he referred to as Factor CJH. If the size of the needle wasn’t sufficiently scary, the trolley with defibrillator and ventilator ensured that neither Ianto nor Jack could avoid awareness of the potential dangers.

Rather than being reassuring these precautions had the effect of causing Jack to become even more anxious. He could barely contain his growing unease and there wasn’t room for three grown men, even if one was lying down, in Jack’s sleeping quarters, especially when one of them was attempting to pace up and down.

It was eventually Ianto’s suggestion that Jack hold a meeting with Tosh to discuss the findings of his most recent research. He couldn’t take much more of Jack fixing his eyes in an unblinking stare, as if willing him to get better instantly. He asked Jack to go through the notes he’d made with Tosh, certain that there was something important there that he was unable to see for himself. Owen promised Jack that he’d let him know if there were any changes in Ianto’s condition. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jack found Gwen and Tosh sipping from cups of tea in the boardroom. He was grasping the stack of notes that Ianto had given him and had been looking for Tosh.

“Good morning, Gwen. I hear you’ve been checking out the vehicles our villains have been leaving all over South Wales.”

“Oh yes. There’s quite a collection now. BMW abandoned at the railway station in Swansea. Mercedes from the farm house and the Transit van parked up on the M4.”

“There must be something of use to us in one of them.”

“The van was full of rubbish,” explained Gwen. “Old diesel receipts, newspapers and chip wrappers. But, useful enough to trace the movements of the van over the past month. Looks like it’s been travelling to and from London and then out to the Gower regularly over the past three weeks.”

“Well that ties in with what you and Rhys uncovered last week,” acknowledged Jack.

“It also fits with what Owen and I were discussing earlier,” Tosh pointed out. “The van was being used to transport weevils from Cardiff to places where they would be infected and have their blood taken. From what Gwen found out, it seems as if the van was used for transporting not just weevils, but maybe chemicals and equipment from the lab in London to one out here.”

“Any update on that PO Box number?” Jack asked.

“Waiting for the Post Office to open in thirty minutes and then I should get a reply to my request for information.” 

Tosh shrugged her shoulders. Even Torchwood couldn’t put pressure on the Royal Mail.

“Another half hour? OK. So what else on the vehicles, Gwen?”

“The Mercedes E-class was a rental. Hired from Avis at Heathrow. Copley picked it up when he flew in from Australia. Nothing in it except Copley’s prints, which we’d expect anyway.”

“Damn.” Jack was hoping there’d be some leads on the elusive Australian.

“However, the BMW was much more interesting,” Gwen took another sip of her tea, relishing the intel she’d uncovered. “Although it was clean, nothing of any consequence left inside, a trace on the chassis number indicates that the plates are fake. And what’s more, the chassis number was enough to trace its original owner. You’re going to love this, Jack. Well maybe not literally. It was registered to Torchwood One.”

“What?!” The first emotion to hit Jack was anger and then frustration took its place. The net was tightening – the only trouble was that the fish had already leapt out.

“Torchwood One-”

“Oh yeah, I remember. They owned a whole fleet of cars. Yvonne and the department bosses had exclusive use of the top end models. Yet another loose end I failed to –”

“It’s not your fault. You can’t take it personally.” Tosh interrupted Jack before he got side-tracked. “The aftermath of what happened at Canary Wharf was a nightmare to tackle. It’s not surprising that not everything was taken care of-”

“That’s not it, Tosh!” yelled Jack as he angrily swept the paper work off the boardroom table. “If just one of those idiots that brought about the ruin at Torchwood London is still free to drive around in a fucking BMW, running labs to develop a genetically altered weevil-human hybrid virus - a virus that is now doing its best to kill Ianto- then I take it very personally!”

“Calm down, Jack!” Gwen yelled back, not prepared to let Jack take out his frustration on her colleague. “Sit back down and listen to what Tosh managed to find out.” 

“Sorry, Tosh,” Jack grasped Tosh’s arm and looked apologetic as he took a seat next to her. “Let me guess. You’ve manged to find out who the BMW was last signed out to?”

“Yes, of course I have. I looked it up as soon as Gwen got back. One of Yvonne’s most prestigious scientists. I recognised his name. He’d been head-hunted by at least three colleges at Cambridge and Oxford, but Yvonne managed to lure him away from academia. Dr Geoffrey Gates.”

“Yvonne had her own means of recruiting staff that had to be seen to be believed – trust me,” Jack smiled ruefully. “Stole quite a few of my best protégées. OK, Tosh, what do we know about Gates?”

“To start with, he’s registered as dead. His name’s on the list of casualties of the Battle of Canary Wharf. His body wasn’t recovered. It was assumed he’d been taken into the Void.”

“So are you saying that maybe I’m not the only Torchwood employee with an aversion to staying dead?”

“Now we’ve got a name, we can pull up photos and go through CCTV footage from Swansea station,” Tosh stated. “See if we can find where our missing scientist got to.” 

“Excellent idea.” Jack grinned, impressed at how his team were now starting to get somewhere.

“Give me a minute – I’ll get onto it straight away.” Tosh went across to the terminal in the boardroom. She initiated a search for pictures of Gates which she could use in association with an automated matching programme in conjunction with the CCTV footage they’d already sequestered from the railway station.

“What’s that you’ve got there, Gwen?” Jack noticed that Gwen had been idly looking through the scraps of paper that he’d placed on the table earlier. She was reading the notes that Ianto had collated. She was frowning and looking from one piece of paper to another as if she was on the verge of making a connection.

“I think Ianto was onto something, Jack.” 

“What?”

“It looks like he was busy making lists. You know the way he does. Anyway, here is a list of Torchwood One departments.” Gwen held out one of the bigger scraps of paper. “He’s ringed all those involved in any type of biological or chemical research, in red pen. There are names or locations next to each one- including the place we checked out yesterday. And here is a name without an address.” 

Gwen pointed out the barely legible note at the bottom of the sheet. It said ‘Gates’. Underlined several times, followed by a series of question marks.

“Gates?”

“Yes – with a line linking him directly to Yvonne Hartman. Ianto must have been aware of his appointment when he was working there.”

Tosh suddenly looked up from her computer, having set up her programme she’d checked her email and found a reply from the Royal Mail.

“Jack! The PO Box-”

“Don’t tell me – Gates again?” 

“Yes, and not only a name, but an actual address. Here in Cardiff. And what’s more, the PO Box was last emptied yesterday!” 

“Gwen, Tosh, I want you both to get armed and meet me in the SUV in five minutes. We’ve a house call to make. Owen has to stay here with Ianto and if I find Gates I may be tempted to test his apparent immortality.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Owen? How’s he doing?”

“Hard to tell.” Owen was sat at the bedside trying not to look as though he was obsessively studying the monitoring devices. “His temperature is steadily rising. I was expecting that. Blood pressure’s a bit high, systolic at 150 now – but diastolic is holding more or less steady. Heart rate fluctuating, but nothing too dramatic yet.”

“Is he asleep?” Jack was torn, disappointed that Ianto’s eyes were closed and he wasn’t able to speak with him, yet relieved to see him resting peacefully.

“Sedated. He could hear you shouting, wanted to get up and help, started coughing his guts up. The only way to get him to stay in bed was a sedative. I hope you’re not expecting me to apologise.”

“No, it’s OK. I was hoping to talk to him before we went out – but never mind.” Jack gently stroked Ianto’s forehead, noting for himself how warm it felt. “It looks like we may have found the lab and at least one of our missing scientists.”

“Thank fuck for that – about time we got a lead on those bastards.”

“Yeah – I’m taking Tosh and Gwen with me, best way I can think of to stop me just killing them on the spot if I find them.”

“I s’pose that might work – save one for me won’t you?”

“I’ll try to bring you one back to play with – I imagine you’d like to help me ask them some questions?”

“Too fucking right.”

“Take good care of him for me.” Jack leant down and kissed Ianto softly on the lips, praying to an entity he’d long since given up on, that he’d be able to take him into the fresh air the next time he saw him.


	37. Chapter 37

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apologies, yet again for the delay in updates - but these next few chapters have required quite a bit of editing - far too many long, turgid passages and not enough dialogue. Hopefully, they will be better now.

Tosh and Gwen found themselves waiting in the SUV for Jack to arrive. The address that Tosh had been given by the Royal Mail office was for a building on the outskirts of Cardiff, on the University Hospital campus.

Working on a hunch, she had Gwen make a call to the admin office of the university, asking which department Dr Gates worked in. Neither woman was surprised to learn the he didn’t actually work for the university. However, knowing the name and location of the building allowed Tosh to find out some very interesting facts.

The laboratory complex held a Category 3 containment facility, but the building itself was no longer in use by the University Hospital.

“What a clever bastard!” exclaimed Tosh.

“What do you mean?” asked Gwen, confused by Tosh’s outburst.

“The lab is being let out to a company with a permit to produce Botox-”

“And? I don’t understand.”

“Botox is made from botulinum, a toxin made by Clostridium bacteria. The containment facilities needed would suit those needed to extract the H1N1Z3 virus.”

“Shit – so he’s been operating out of Cardiff, under our noses, all this time.”

“Looks like it. But why didn’t he change his name? Surely he’d want to ensure that we’d never be able to make the link between his activities here and his history at Torchwood in London?”

Gwen frowned. Although she could only just follow the links that Tosh had made in the last few minutes, she understood her concerns about Gates.

“Are you thinking that he may have wanted us to find him?”

“I don’t know, but-”

“Here comes, Jack – about time too. Buckle up Tosh, I think it’s going to be a bumpy ride!”

Jack yanked open door dramatically and virtually launched himself into the driver’s seat. It obviously wasn’t to be a leisurely drive. Both women tugged on their seat belts to ensure they were tightly fastened, an automatic response to the tell tale slamming down of the accelerator pedal that meant Jack wasn’t going to let anything get in his way.

Tosh filled Jack in on her findings on the short trip, five miles north of the Bay.

On arrival, they left the SUV parked in the main campus, allowing them to approach on foot. The laboratory building was innocuous looking, yet knowing what they did know, its deceptively modest appearance made it all the more sinister. The grass was neatly clipped on the perimeters of the redbrick building and a token flower bed still put up a valiant battle against the elements – its winter flowering violets flattened to the ground, their petals rain drenched and tattered about the edges. There was a small parking area outside, devoid of cars – but they could just as easily have been parked up in the main car park.

Gwen flanked Jack on his right-hand side, firearm held snugly in the palm of her hand, hidden from obvious view yet ready to use in an emergency.

“Jack – doesn’t this seem a bit easy to you?” she hissed.

“What do you mean?” Jack broke his stride briefly to allow her to draw alongside him.

“We’ve been chasing shadows all bloody week and then all of a sudden we locate the address of a lab in Cardiff, presumably used by Gates. And this Gates just so happens to be the last person registered to use the BMW driven by a scientist involved in kidnapping Ianto. There’s something we’re missing-”

“Perhaps we just got lucky?” Jack turned to glare at Gwen. “It’s not like the pieces of the puzzle fell into place straight away.”

Despite his words, Jack was rattled. He was annoyed that they’d rushed straight there without spending a little more time checking out exactly what they were getting into. Damn Gwen and her bloody dependence on procedures – he relied on his all guns blazing approach to get results and hated being challenged on it.

“Bollocks – I thought you didn’t believe in coincidences!” Gwen grabbed hold of Jack’s coat sleeve, attempting to slow him down, defiantly resisting the furious glare he was directing at her. “And now, all of a sudden, we have a name and an address. Both linked directly to Torchwood One.

“She’s right, Jack,” Tosh added. “Why would Gates keep his own name? Why didn’t he bother changing it?”

Fortified by Tosh’s support, Gwen was on a roll. Much as she hated to admit it, once she began to challenge Jack on any particular issue, she found herself carried away with the momentum and she couldn’t let the matter drop.

“What if it’s a trap? Why else would he let us find him so easily?”

“Arrogance?” responded, Jack defensively. “He’s probably so full of his own importance he couldn’t bear to part with a name that would be recognised in the scientific community-”

Whilst Jack and Gwen had been facing off, Tosh had paused to look around them, checking out for cameras or other monitoring devices. Someone had to maintain a level head after all, she reflected that this was something that Ianto would do on missions, keep his cool and ignore the bickering between Jack and Gwen, like he had in the warehouse where the space whale was being kept.

Although the current confrontation between the two was nothing new, Tosh thought their timing could have been better, they were stood outside the door to the lab where their chief suspects were possibly standing and yet they had to have an argument.

“Shut up – both of you!” Tosh snapped. “You’re both onto something. I checked the man’s files – apparently he was a conceited and brilliant scientist. So yes, Jack, you’re probably right about his reason for not changing his name. But Gwen has a point too – this all seems too convenient, a lab on our doorstep, isolated from other buildings, no visible security-”

“Hang on, Tosh. I thought you’d scanned for surveillance devices.” Jack pointed at the scanner in Tosh’s hand. “Didn’t you?”

“Yes – there’s nothing showing up. The place looks deserted. But-”

“OK – we’ve two options,” Jack stated emphatically. “One is to go in anyway and the other is to turn round and head for home. And guess what?”

“You’re not the type of guy that leaves a job half done?” Gwen couldn’t resist the opportunity to throw some innuendo in Jack’s direction for a change.

“Never.” Jack grinned and moved closer to the building. “I’m going in – you two with me or not?”

“For fuck’s sake, Jack –” Gwen was tempted to drag him away from the door, but the expression on his face was the one that totally forbid any refusal. “OK, but if it’s a trap-”

“Yeah – you can say it.”

Gwen and Tosh stood back to give Jack room to test the door handle before barging in. They weren’t entirely shocked when it swung open without a hint of resistance.

“OK – looks like you’re right. Smells like a trap to me.” Jack held his Webley out in front of him, turning to urgently whisper to Tosh. “Stay back and get in touch with Owen. Let him know what’s going on. Get him to open comms so he can hear whatever we can-”

“Jack –” Tosh didn’t get the chance to say anything else as Jack gave her arm a quick squeeze before directing her to the side of the building. She ducked down by the wall and called the Hub, willing Owen to answer quickly.

“Well, Gwen – shall we enter the trap?”

Gwen shook her head at his apparent bravado, but wasn’t going to leave him to go in on his own, not now.

“After you.”

They walked through the door and crossed a small lobby to a pair of swing doors that led into a large open area. From there they could see what must have been the containment lab, small windows were embedded into its thick walls, allowing limited views into the area where viruses could be handled without risk of contamination of the surrounding area.

No-one appeared to be working beyond the biohazard signs. The lights were out and the remote handling area was deserted, inverted long-armed gloves dangling clear of the isolation chambers.

As Jack and Gwen slowly entered the area, they stood back to back and methodically swept opposite sides of the room, but they saw nothing untoward. It just looked abandoned, like the lab that Gwen had seen in London.

Then they heard an ominous hiss as a set of electronically controlled doors slid shut behind them, blocking their exit. Spinning around Jack dashed to the doors, but was unable to prise them open.

“Oh shit…” murmured Gwen.

The crackle of speakers set high up on the wall was the first indication they had that they were not alone.

“You certainly took your time getting here, Captain Harkness. I’ve been expecting you.”


	38. Chapter 38

“Gates?” yelled out Jack. “Come out here where I can see you!”

“Whilst you are still armed? Don’t insult my intelligence, Captain.”

“I can’t think of one good reason to put my gun away. Can you?”

“Since you ask - yes. I suggest you and Ms Cooper look to your left – on the desk there is a video screen.”

Gwen looked at Jack sharply, wondering how the hell this bastard knew her name. Jack gestured to the desk just as the monitor flickered into life, showing an image that caused both of them to blanch. Tosh’s face stared at them, a disembodied hand gripping her hair tightly, causing her head to be tilted up, another hand holding a gun to her head, its barrel pressed against her forehead.

“Let go of her, you bastard!” 

“No. It would appear that now I have something of yours, we’re in a position to negotiate a trade.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“First of all I would like you and Ms Cooper to place your weapons and communication devices on the floor and then you will each take a seat – one at either end of the room. Any unexpected moves will result in Ms Sato suffering.”

“Jack?”

“Do as he says, Gwen. I’m not taking any risks with Tosh.”

They followed Gates’ instructions. Once they were seated, the doors slid open again to reveal Tosh being pushed forward, her hands tied behind her back. Holding a gun to her head was Copley. Jack could see the resemblance to the man’s dead brother, he was a tall, well built man, with cold grey eyes and thin lips. He forced Tosh to sit on the floor. 

Entering the room from a door to the side, Gates joined them. He looked every bit the arrogant scientist, a receding hairline, straggly beard and glasses that made his eyes look small. There was a strangely manic expression on his face as though he hadn’t expected this to be quite so easy. 

In his hand, Gates held a weapon that Jack could tell was not of this time, he must have taken it from Torchwood in London. Unfortunately, Jack couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but there was no way he was taking any risks with a madman armed with an unknown device.

Gates walked over to Gwen first and tied her to the chair with plastic restraints. She looked at Jack for guidance, the slight shake of his head telling her not to take any chances. He mouthed the word ‘sorry’ to her and despite her temptation to say ‘I told you so’, she bit her tongue and smiled weakly at him. Once Gwen was immobilised, Gates crossed the room to Jack and aimed the alien firearm at his forehead.

“All in one place. The remnants of the motley crew that dare go under the name of Torchwood.” 

Jack frowned; it appeared that Gates believed that the three of them were all that remained of his team. But then again, neither Gates nor Copley had actually seen Owen, so there was no reason for Gates not to think that he had died at the Pharm after being shot by Copley’s brother. As for Ianto… 

“I do hope the unfortunate Mr Jones didn’t suffer too painful a death. I regret not having had the opportunity to observe the progress of the disease in a human subject, but there is time enough for that.”

“You son of a bitch –” Jack saw red. Any mercy he may have been prepared to show Gates evaporated there and then.

“Ah, sounds like I hit a nerve.”

“What the hell is all this about?” Jack spoke through clenched teeth. 

“Survival – revenge. The usual motivations for uncharacteristic acts of aggression.”

“You’ve lost me.”

“Don’t expect a detailed exposition. Suffice it to say that whilst Yvonne ran Torchwood, I had unlimited resources and funds at my disposal. She let me take charge of the operations conducted at the Pharm - such a wonderful opportunity to exploit the bounty that fell through the rift located here. Then after her demise, and your plundering of the London centre, I moved here to continue my work on a little project with Aaron.”

“The virus- you were manufacturing it at the Pharm?”

“Yes, Ms Sato – we were. A marvellous breakthrough, the H1N1Z3 strain was to be our financial insurance, we could pick and choose our clients. Unfortunately for us, your Captain here decided to raze the place before production was optimised, in an act of revenge for his dead doctor.”

“After killing my brother.” Copley glared at Jack.

“Later, Phillip. I’ll let you avenge Aaron when I have what I want.”

“Just what is it that you want from us?” Jack demanded.

“I know that Torchwood Three pilfered the vaults at Canary Wharf, picking over the remains of the best defence of the realm against alien attacks.”

“London failed, miserably,” Jack retorted. “I was making sure nothing else fell into the wrong hands. Looks like I did the right thing.”

“You took what wasn’t yours!” Gates snapped back angrily. “Yvonne’s strategy was clear – what’s alien is ours, to use as we will to defend this country, this realm, this planet. And you have locked it away where it’s of no use to anyone.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me?” Jack couldn’t hide the incredulity from his voice. “You want access to what I took from London, for the benefit of mankind?”

It was all too apparent that Gates wanted to continue the Pharm’s exploitation of alien resources for profit. 

“Mankind may not know what is in its best interests, but I do.”

“You are mad – completely fucking bonkers!” Gwen screamed at him from across the room.

“Oh, Ms Cooper – let me know when you’ve got a connection established between your synapses and I may bother conversing with you, until then, please desist from talking. Philip, old man? Shut her up will you?”

“Don’t you touch her!” Jack leapt up from his seat only to be forced back as Gates shoved the weapon he was holding into Jack’s chest. 

“With pleasure Geoffrey.” Copley smiled as he strolled over to Gwen, taking a syringe from his pocket. Despite her desperate attempts to struggle against her bonds Gwen failed to prevent him from injecting her in the arm with a tranquiliser and within seconds she slumped forward in her seat.

“Now you’ve really pissed me off!” growled Jack. “You’re dead men. Both of you-”

“You are really in no position to threaten us, Captain. Now let’s discuss business. You have something I want and I appear to have restrained two young ladies that I suspect you’d like to see remain intact.” 

“Jack – don’t do it!” Tosh pleaded, her voice strained and tense.

“OK, Gates – what did you have in mind?”

“You take us back to your base in Cardiff. We collect some items that you stole and then I allow Philip to exact his revenge.”

“You know what?” Jack shook his head. “That really doesn’t appeal to me.”

“Oh yes, I forgot to mention that I have this device.” 

Gates brandished something in his left hand that looked suspiciously like a remote control for a TV.

“It works from a range of up to ten miles. I can use this button to initiate the decontamination cycle in the containment laboratory. Then I can use this one to open the doors between the lab and this area, flooding the entire floor with formaldehyde gas. If you choose to attempt anything remotely heroic, I shall not hesitate to execute Ms Cooper and Ms Sato. Is that sufficient incentive, Captain Harkness?”

“What guarantee do I have that you’ll release them when you get what you want?”

“You’ll just have to trust me.” Gates shrugged. “You don’t have much choice. If you refuse to co-operate we’ll just leave the building and get rid of all three of you at once. I’m sure we can get into your base without your help.”

Tosh looked at Jack, seeking reassurance that he had a plan to protect Owen and Ianto even if he couldn’t save her and Gwen. Jack tried to convey to her, without speaking, that he’d find a way, that whatever they tried, they wouldn’t be able to kill him permanently and that he’d do his utmost to save them all. The almost imperceptible nod of her head signalled to him that Tosh had understood and trusted him.

Jack turned to Gates, a grim look in his eye and a set to his jaw that only those who knew him would know to fear.

“OK then, seeing as you put it like that, let’s go. Shall I drive?”


	39. Chapter 39

“Ianto – you awake? Come on, wake up for fuck’s sake.” 

Owen was shaking Ianto roughly now, regretting having sedated him quite so strongly. Although it would have been medically better to leave his patient sleeping peacefully, he didn’t want to leave him on his own and unconscious whilst he went off to the assistance of the others. This was all Jack’s fault he decided, storming off with coat tails flapping in the breeze and a disregard for caution that bordered on the suicidal. 

Ianto opened his eyes suddenly.

“What the hell?”

“Sorry about that – had to get you to wake up. Thirsty?” 

Ianto nodded and then wished he hadn’t as a wave of nausea washed over him, followed by the kick of a stabbing pain behind his eyes.

“Shit, Owen. My bloody head is killing me, and I feel sick to my stomach. What the hell was in that fucking injection?”

“The sedative or the extract from Jack’s blood? Either of them could be responsible for how you’re feeling. Here have this, I’ll get you something for the headache too.” 

Owen passed Ianto a bottle of water that he’d removed the lid from and then tipped a couple of paracetamol and codeine tablets into his hand.

“OK, I need you to listen up carefully. I’ve got to go out – they’re in trouble-”

“What? Who? Where?” Ianto frowned, wondering if he was still sleeping and dreaming this, he was having trouble understanding what Owen was saying. 

“Jack, Tosh and Gwen. And they’re in a Gates’ lab.”

“Gates? Bill Gates? Are we taking on Microsoft?” Ianto asked anxiously. “I bloody knew Windows was the work of aliens.”

Owen rolled his eyes, beginning to think that maybe he should have just left the younger man unconscious. 

“Concentrate, Ianto. Not Bill. This Gates used to work for Hartman. At Torchwood One.”

“Oh, that Gates –”

“Yeah. Look I really don’t have time to fill you in with all the details right now. Trust me, I need to get out there.”

“Where?”

“The lab, it’s on the university campus. Tosh called to let me know there was a problem, then she was cut off. I think they’ve walked into a trap.”

“I’m coming with you-” Ianto was pushing himself out of the bed, looking around for his clothes, wondering when he’d lost them, but relieved that he was wearing a pair of boxers.

“No! You can barely sit up, never mind anything else. Sorry, Ianto, you’d just be a liability. Anyway, you have to stay here in case they get in touch again –”

“Shit. You’re right – just help me up into Jack’s office then. I can catch up and be ready to do something…” 

Ianto looked thoroughly pissed off that there was so little he could do. He wasn’t sure that he’d ever felt quite so helpless. Owen could see the despair in Ianto’s face, and although he didn’t think he should be out of bed never mind doing anything else, he figured that someone had to be ready to co-ordinate if necessary. At least Ianto wasn’t exhibiting any symptoms that suggested adverse reactions to the treatment he’d received. 

“OK – fair enough, as long as you stay there.” 

Ianto pulled on a tee shirt and jeans, and with Owen’s assistance he managed to climb up the ladder, through the hatch way and into the office. He collapsed into Jack’s chair at the desk, out of breath and swaying. 

“Shit – you look bloody awful,” Owen started to reconsider his snap diagnosis. “How are you feeling?” 

“My head still hurts like fuck and I feel a bit dizzy, can hear blood pumping in my ears … s’OK, I’ll be fine …”

“You’d better take this.”

Owen pressed a gun into Ianto’s hand. He’d been to the armoury and grabbed firearms to take with him, including spares for the others in case they’d lost their weapons. He’d also grabbed one for Ianto, it occurred to him that if everything went horribly wrong he didn’t want to leave him here alone and unarmed.

“There’s painkillers here and some water. Try not to do anything stupid while I’m out … please? I promised Jack I’d look after you. He’ll seriously try to kill me if you are worse by the time he gets back.”

“Owen, don’t worry. I’ll be fine. Now go!”

“Yeah right. I’m off now.”

“Bye, Owen”

“I’ll see you later, teaboy!” 

As Owen ran out through the tunnel that led to the garage he wondered if he’d locked the armoury behind him. He shook his head, he’d do that when he got back, there wasn’t time to go back and check. He’d wasted enough time already.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You expect us to all stand on a paving slab?”

“Yep.” Jack had decided earlier that going in on the invisible lift would give Ianto and Owen enough warning and they could get out through the other exit. Or at least stay well hidden. He really didn’t want them getting caught in the crossfire.

All three men stood on the piece of pavement next to the water feature in the centre of Roald Dahl Plas. As Jack went to press the buttons on his wrist strap to operate the lift, Gates grabbed his arm and pushed the concealed weapon into Jack’s side.

“Don’t try anything funny, Captain.”

“Trust me, I won’t.” Jack’s plans were deadly serious.

As the lift descended into the heart of the base, Jack looked around, hoping that Owen was out of sight and that the two scientists with him did not find Ianto. They’d done enough damage to him already.

Looking about him as he stepped off the paving stone, Gates couldn’t help but notice the entrance to the armoury, open enough to allow a glimpse inside. In plain sight were the Dalek guns, stacked on a rack near the door. Jack swore to himself, he would string up whoever had left that door unlocked – he could feel his plan falling apart already.

“That looks like a good place to start, Gates gestured towards the open armoury. “Philip? You have the case at the ready?”

“Yes, Geoffrey.” Copley passed a large, metallic case to Gates. 

“If you’d be so good as to keep an eye on Harkness here whilst I see if I can find what was taken from Torchwood.” 

Jack felt prickles of sweat forming on the back of his neck. He had never intended for Gates to get this far. His plan didn’t involve open armoury doors. He knew what was in there that he’d salvaged from Canary Wharf and there was no way in hell he could allow Gates to leave the Hub with it. 

“The stuff from Torchwood One is all kept in the archives,” Jack called out. “Maybe you’d like to start there?”

“No thank you, Captain. Your attempts to divert me only confirm that this is precisely the best place for me to commence my search.”

Jack lunged at Copley and knocked him to the ground, but just as he wrapped his hands about the other man’s throat he stopped as he heard Gates call out to him. He looked up to see Gates pull the small black remote control box from his pocket, rubbing his thumb lightly over the buttons.

“Let him go! I have pressed the first button, and if you do not release Philip and move back to the wall I shall press the other one. I warned you.” The black box now showed a blinking red light that hadn’t been lit up previously. 

Jack had no choice but to watch from outside as Gates wandered about inside the armoury, selecting a number of items from the benches and racks, which he carefully placed in the open case that he’d placed on the table near the door. When the scientist moved out of sight towards the back of the room the chances of him failing to find his quarry became more and more unlikely.

Gates then came back into view, placed a few small objects into the case and snapped the lid shut. The uplifted corners of his lips the only indication that he’d found what he’d been looking for. 

“Anytime you like now, Philip – he’s all yours.”

Copley grinned and raised his pistol to point it directly at Jack’s face, he cocked the weapon, and licked his lips.

“This is for Aaron,” he hissed vindictively.

The sound of gunfire echoed in the open space, followed by high pitched screeches from the pterodactyl which had flown from its perch to swoop across the hub. A body slumped to the floor.

“No you fucking don’t!”

The men left standing spun round in shock at hearing the deep Welsh voice, wavering slightly. Ianto stood stock still on the balcony outside Jack’s office, gripping the railing with his left hand, the gun almost sliding from his other hand as he breathed heavily.

“Ianto!”

Jack was distracted for long enough for Gates to take aim at Ianto with the weapon he’d had back at the lab. Without warning a narrow beam of red light lit up the air silently, dust motes caught in its glare. Jack saw out of the corner of his eye what Gates was doing and he shoved the man hard, he was too late to stop the discharge, but it was enough for the ray to glance off Ianto’s arm rather than hit him full in the chest. 

Ianto’s arm stung like hell and the sharp pain was enough to cause him to lose his footing on the metal rails. Before he knew it, he was tumbling down the stairs, his gun clattering down ahead of him. Despite his vain attempts to break his fall, there was no respite from the hard unforgiving metal and he couldn’t move his right arm at all to grab onto the rails. His gathering momentum threw him hard against one of the posts at the bottom of the stairway and then the pain receded as the darkness claimed him. 

Jack rushed to Ianto’s side, pulling him into his lap. Bloody fool, what the hell did he think he was doing? And where the fuck was Owen?

“You bastard!” Jack sobbed furiously as he desperately checked Ianto’s throat for a pulse, hot tears running down his face unchecked. 

“Well that was unexpected.” Gates was now pointing the weapon at Ianto’s prone form as if intending to finish him off. 

The sound of Gates’ voice behind him drove Jack over the edge and he turned rapidly, grappling the scientist about the knees, pulling him to the ground and wrenching the firearm from his grip. Jack’s superior strength was too much for the scientist and he soon had him pinned to the floor, his arms twisted behind his back painfully. 

“Harkness – damn you to hell!” 

Jack looked up to see that Copley wasn’t dead, but had crawled across the metal floor, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. Jack couldn’t take his eyes from the black box dropped by Gates in the struggle. Copley now had it grasped in one bloody hand, as he viciously stabbed at the remaining button with the last ounce of strength he possessed. 

“NO!” screamed Jack, launching himself at the dying man, making the fatal error of turning his back on Gates. 

The burning pain that flared through his body was the last thing Jack felt as his world turned black.


	40. Chapter 40

Owen reached the university campus and the building that housed the laboratory. He was initially surprised not to see the SUV outside, until he remembered that Tosh had informed him that Jack had parked on the main campus.

On his way out of the Hub, Owen had picked up the alien device with unlocking properties, intending to use it for opening doors. Although it wasn’t needed to open the external door, which had been left wide open, he did need it to open the electronic doors within.

Owen’s attention was immediately drawn to the flashing red lights above the entrance to the containment lab. He realised that the warning lights indicated the imminent purging of the area with fumigating gas – probably formaldehyde. His hopes that his colleagues and friends weren’t in there were dashed when he caught sight of Gwen’s body, slumped in a chair. As he rushed to her side, Tosh called out to him.

“Owen! The doors to the chamber will open any minute and flood the whole building with gas!”

“Fuck!” exclaimed Owen, “That’s all I need.”

Leaving Gwen, he ran to Tosh and untied the bonds that were immobilising her. Joining forces, they were able to release Gwen from the chair she was tied to and drag her out of the building.

“Where’s Jack?” Owen demanded as he got Gwen into the recovery position on the grass. Checking her vitals, he again asked Tosh where the hell Jack had got to.

“Gates and Copley were both here. They took Jack back to the Hub. We need to get back there!”

“Where’s the SUV then? We won’t all fit in my car. Not unless we strap Gwen to the fucking bonnet.”

Owen shook his head as he looked over to his sports car that he’d abandoned in the centre of the parking area.

“Jack was trying to persuade them to go with him in it. I think he had a plan.”

Tosh was slapping Gwen’s face in a vain attempt to rouse the sleeping woman.

“Shit – she’s totally out of it. What did they do to her?”

“She got injected with something. Lost consciousness pretty much immediately – tranquiliser I assumed.”

Owen pulled a small jar of a peculiar looking ointment from his medical bag and handed it to Tosh.

“Alien?” asked Tosh inquisitively.

“Near enough,” snorted Owen as he thrust the jar into her hand. “Just wave it under her nose for a few seconds.”

Within seconds Gwen began to gasp and choke as the ammonium fumes made her eyes water.

“Oh my God! What the bloody hell was that?”

“Ammonium carbonate. Aka sal volatile. To you – smelling salts.”

“It stinks,” complained Gwen.

“Yeah, but you’re awake now. You two need to get back to the Hub – whatever he thinks, Jack probably needs help. Tosh – you drive my car. Here are the keys, take care of it please. . I guess you two lost your weapons, so I put replacements in the glove compartment.”

“What about you?” asked Tosh as she took the keys from Owen.

“I’m going back in there,” Owen pointed back to the lab.

“But the formaldehyde -”

“Not going to kill me is it? Might pickle me. Preserve me even. But it ain’t gonna kill me. I need to get in there and make sure all their stocks of that fucking virus are destroyed.”

“Owen?” Tosh reached out and grabbed hold of Owen’s hand. “Are you sure you’ll be OK?”

“Look, Tosh – that’s got to be where they’re storing the virus. I can’t allow those bastards to use it.”

“Take care.”

“You, too – now bugger off and go rescue Jack!”

Before Owen walked back through the doors into the lab, he pulled out his phone and made a call to Ianto. He was hoping he’d stayed out of sight. He’d hate to think what Jack would do to him if any more harm came to Ianto.

There was no answer and Owen didn’t have the time to worry. He left a message and then made his way into the building.

The fumes had filled the area in which he’d found Gwen and Tosh, but he could see what he was looking for to the left of the area – a door to a cold store. Inside he found containers of liquid nitrogen in which he hoped there’d be vials containing the virus.

Although he couldn’t feel the cold, he really didn’t want his fingers freezing solid and dropping off, so he grabbed hold of the long gauntlets and took the lid off the canister closest to the door. Lifting up the cage that was used to lower samples into the freezing liquid gas, Owen was rewarded with the sight of several small vials – all labelled H1N1Z3. Some were also labelled ‘I. Jones’.

“Fucking bastards,” growled Owen. He then scattered the vials across the bench top, followed by the contents of the other two canisters.

Owen left the door to the cold room open. What he planned would destroy the virus as long as the door remained open. Grabbing a lighter, a bottle of ethanol and a handful of tissues from a box of Kleenex, he ran to the electronic doors, opened them by pressing the release switch and then wedged them open. He needed to time this just right to make it work. He didn’t want to leave it too long, or the gas would become too diffuse, but he’d prefer it if he got clear first.

“Stupid twats,” he thought to himself as he left the building. “Arrogant bloody shits didn’t even think that anyone would come along and just blow the fucking place to smithereens!”

He tossed aside the stopper of the ethanol bottle, stuffed the tissue into the neck and then lit the tissue, a Molotov cocktail in effect. He hurled his homemade incendiary device into the lab and then ran as fast as he could towards the road. Owen flung himself to the ground just as the flammable formaldehyde was ignited and the building became engulfed in flames.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Jack?” Ianto called out softly, the first thing that had entered his mind as he’d regained consciousness.

He dragged himself to where Jack was crumpled in a heap on the floor. There was no sign of Gates, but he could see Copley’s motionless body a few metres away from where Jack lay.

Taking hold of Jack’s arm, he pulled him over onto his back and held onto his hand. It always comforted Jack if there was someone with him when he came back. The feeling in Ianto’s right arm was gradually coming back, but the burning sensation suggested that there was some damage. His head was still throbbing, but this time it was due to the brutal impact with the floor’s metal grating.

Ianto leaned back against the bottom stair and slowly dragged Jack across to lie in his lap. He had no idea how long he’d been unconscious or how long Jack had been dead. He pulled his mobile from his pocket and checked the time, but as he had no idea what time it was when he’d come crashing down the stairs, it didn’t help. But he did see that there was voicemail from Owen.

He was sitting there gently stroking the back of Jack’s hand with his thumb when a spasm like a shockwave suddenly ripped its way through Jack’s body. A deep gasp heralded that first breath, the one needed to fill Jack’s lungs with much needed oxygen rich air. It never failed to give Ianto a shock.

Jack’s eyes opened suddenly and fixed on Ianto. He seemed surprised to see him sitting there, but the relief that flooded his body was demonstrated with a wide grin.

“Ianto? Thank God! You’re alive!” Jack scrambled up and hugged Ianto fiercely.

“And so are you – took your damn time though,” Ianto mumbled into Jack’s hair. “You’ve been out at least half an hour.”

Jack twisted his body around and sat next to Ianto, his back to the stairs, surveying the Hub.

“Damn energy weapon – must’ve been from at least two millennia in the future. There’s no way he should’ve had that. Must’ve got it from London.”

Although the issue of how Gates had got hold of a functioning weapon from the future, one that could incapacitate Jack for that long was a serious one, Jack was also concerned about Ianto, he’d seen him hit by that weapon and then take a bad fall that had knocked him out.

“How are you? Injuries?”

“Bruises mostly I think, and my arm hurts like hell from where I got hit. No broken bones as far as I can tell-”

“We need Owen to look you over,” Jack stated and then it dawned on him that there was no sign of Owen. “Where the hell has he got to? He should be here looking after you!”

“Ah, you don’t know. Owen heard from Tosh, she got through long enough to let him know you were all in trouble. So he went to your rescue.”

“Tosh and Gwen – oh no, they’re dead and it’s all my fucking stupid fault.” Jack slammed his fist into the wall. “If only I’d listened to what Tosh was telling me, they’d be safe – damn! Damn!”

Jack was on the verge of absolute despair and apparently oblivious to Ianto’s desperate attempts to get him to listen to what he had to say. He shook off Ianto’s hands that were grabbing at his fists trying to keep him from punching holes in the wall.

“Jack! Stop it! Listen to me! They’re fine! Owen called – he got there in time. Gwen and Tosh are on their way back now.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

Jack let out a sigh of relief and sitting across from where Ianto was leaning on the stairs that led up to his office, he pulled Ianto close. He wrapped his arms around him as tight as he possibly could.

After coming round and seeing Jack’s dead body on the floor next to him Ianto had been focused totally on him, only now as he glanced over Jack’s shoulder did he take in the trickles of blood on the floor next to them. Blood that he knew hadn’t come from Jack – the weapon had caused internal tissue disruption by all accounts, no blood loss. As his eyes traced the trickles back to the larger pool of blood he gulped hard, seeing clearly for the first time the lifeless body of Copley, its vacant, bulging eyes fixing him with an accusing stare.

Jack felt Ianto shudder and he loosened his grip, enough to see that the younger man was staring at Copley’s body, lying in a pool of congealed blood.

“Ianto –you OK?”

Ianto said nothing, but swallowed hard as if to prevent himself from being sick.

Jack followed Ianto’s gaze to the body on the floor of the hub.

“Why? Why did you shoot him, Ianto?”

“He had a gun in your face and he was going to blow your brains out.”

“I’d have come back.”

“Don’t care. I fucking hate watching you get killed.” As Jack pulled Ianto closer to him, he could hear his teeth chattering and feel him tensing up.

“Hush – it’s OK, I’m OK.” He took another look at Ianto, worried now, even more once he noticed how pale he’d become, a sheen of sweat breaking out on his forehead.

“Hey there – you still feeling sick?”

“Yeah –but it’s…” Ianto swallowed hard again, struggling to keep his emotions under control.

“What is it? Come on tell me – no secrets remember?” Jack stroked Ianto’s hair gently, trying to reassure him that he really could tell him anything.

“It’s just that I’ve never actually, you know, ever killed a human being before – he’s the first man I’ve actually killed. Shit, I hated the bastard, but never thought I’d kill him-”

“Hey, it’s OK. Remember that he’d have killed you, not to mention Gwen and Tosh.” Jack grasped Ianto in a hug, squeezing him tightly to his chest. “He was happy to kill in cold blood. You shot him to protect me. I know you. You’re not a killer-”

The words hung in the air between the two men, as both experienced a strange sense of déjà vu.

The moment was broken as the alarm went off, signalling the arrival of Gwen and Tosh.


	41. Chapter 41

Gwen and Tosh were standing flush to the walls on either side of the cog wheel, scanning the main hub area for signs of life. They were both holding their guns at arms’ length, gripped in both hands, their feet braced on the floor, ready to fire if necessary. 

“Jack?” Gwen shouted out, the worry evident in her voice that wavered slightly. “Answer me. Jack –are you OK?”

“Over here, Gwen!” Jack called out to her.

Gwen ran across to where Jack and Ianto were sitting on the floor. Tosh following her, warily checking the area to make sure it was safe.

“Where are Gates and –” Gwen looked down at the dead body of Copley. “Oh…”

“Ianto shot him. Copley was about to kill me, but Ianto stopped him.” 

Jack tightened his hold on Ianto, making it clear that what he’d done wasn’t wrong, not in the circumstances and that he was grateful. He had been affected by Ianto’s admission of how it hurt him to see Jack die, he should have realised, yet he’d not taken the time to consider his feelings. That would have to change. 

“Where’s Gates?” demanded Tosh, looking around for the rogue scientist.

“Gone. We need to check CCTV footage. Find out which way he went. I also need to know if that bastard went anywhere else in the Hub.”

“Didn’t you two see where he went?”

“No, Gwen, we didn’t. We were both… incapacitated… for a while.” Jack sighed, really not wanting to explain that he’d nearly got them all killed. 

Not wanting to dwell on what might have happened, Jack sprung to his feet, pulling Ianto up and helping him onto the nearest chair. Taking a deep breath, Jack turned to his team and reassumed his role as leader. 

“Gwen - I want you to start going through internal and external camera feeds. See what you can find,” Jack barked out his orders. “Tosh – I need all the security codes changing asap. And where the hell is Owen? Didn’t he come back with you?”

Despite Jack’s anger at the doctor for having abandoned Ianto, he was grateful to him for having saved Gwen and Tosh. He’d never have forgiven himself if they’d been killed as a consequence of his own foolishness. 

“He stayed at the lab. Told us to get back here to help you,” Tosh replied.

“He was going back to destroy the virus,” Gwen added, although she wondered if they should have asked Owen how he was intending to do that. 

“Oh shit, it looks like he found a way-” Tosh had logged onto her computer and found that the link to emergency services was flagging up notifications of a major incident at the university. “There’s been an explosion. Fire appliances are on their way and part of the university campus has been evacuated.”

Jack and Gwen moved towards her workstation so that they could see the incoming news on the incident as Tosh brought it up on her monitor. 

“What the hell has he done!?” exclaimed Jack. 

“Like Gwen said, he was determined to put an end to whatever they’d been up to at that lab.” Tosh explained. “I just hope he got out in time.”

“Call him. I want him back here now. Tell him to get a taxi – whatever it takes!”

Jack walked purposefully across to the armoury and locked the door, using an override code to alter the sequence required to gain entry. He wondered, yet again, why the door had been left wide open. 

It occurred to him that when he’d left earlier, Ianto hadn’t been armed. He shook his head and dismissed the notion as soon as it occurred to him. There was no way that Ianto would ever leave the door to the armoury unlocked, it was against his instincts.

Jack’s train of thought was broken by the sound of a sudden exclamation from Gwen.

“Ianto, love? Are you OK?” Gwen was crouching next to Ianto, who had curled up in the chair, cradling his right arm close to his chest.

“I’m fine, Gwen,” Ianto said between clenched teeth. “It just stings a bit.” 

Ianto tried not to look Jack in the eye as he rapidly joined them, concern written all over his face. Of course Jack would know just how much that bloody ray gun hurt. It felt as though it had ripped his arm apart inside, one cell at a time and the pain was getting worse. 

Tosh paused in her work, and walked straight across to where Ianto was sitting and standing next to him she placed her hand gently on his forehead, checking his temperature.

“How are you feeling, Ianto? How’s that cough?”

She had shared in Owen’s findings and knew that whatever else the extract from Jack’s blood might have done, it would have brought about the inactivation of the virus in his body, making it safe for her to get close to him. It obviously hadn’t even occurred to Gwen that he might have still been contagious.

“The ’flu symptoms don’t seem too bad now. Thanks for asking.” Ianto smiled fondly at his friend. “I could do with something for my arm though.” 

“Tosh – can you take another blood sample? See how he’s getting on?” Jack wasn’t prepared to wait any longer for Owen to get back. He needed to know how Ianto was responding to the injection he’d been given several hours earlier.

“Of course. How about it, Ianto? I’ll be able to get you some pain killers as well.” 

“Much as I hate being used as a pincushion, I don’t mind if it’s you, Tosh.” Ianto smiled. “Especially if you can find the really good painkillers.” 

Jack helped support Ianto as they followed Tosh out of the main area, leaving Gwen to continue her search through the CCTV feeds.

Ianto knew, without a medical exam, that he was bruised all over and had a nasty lump on his head. But he let Tosh ran the scanner over him and take a blood sample. She was definitely more gentle that Owen and for that he was grateful, he was aching all over and felt awful, not that he’d let Jack know, he had far too much on his mind. Tosh gave him a shot for the injury to his arm, a local anaesthetic that numbed the pain to a level that was bearable.

“Is he going to be OK, Tosh?” 

“I think so. You’ll have to get Owen to confirm it. The scanner is indicating some hairline fractures to the bone and soft tissue damage. I’d imagine it’s going to be slow to heal -”

“Disruptor weapon - nasty piece of work.” Jack shuddered, recalling the pain that had shot through his body. 

“What about the virus, is he going to be alright? Did it work?” Jack was anxious to know if his blood had indeed held the cure. He desperately needed some good news.

“I won’t know for certain until the blood test results come through the machine. I can check his lungs with the scanner, that might indicate if there’s been any change to the progress of the disease.”

Tosh undid the buttons on Ianto’s shirt, adjusted the scanner to the correct setting to check lung tissue and then ran it across Ianto’s bare chest.

“Take in a deep breath and hold it. That’s looking good, the inflammation in the bronchioles has all but disappeared,” Tosh muttered as she focused in on smaller structures in the lungs. “And it looks like the accumulation of fluid in the alveoli has been reabsorbed. Jack – I think it’s working!” 

Tosh put the scanner down on the bench and grinned at Jack, who promptly swept her off her feet and planted a kiss on her lips. 

“Thank you!” 

Despite having Jack’s arms still around her, Tosh could tell by the way he was looking at Ianto that he wanted a moment alone with him. She made a vague comment about changing codes on the system log-in screens and then quietly slipped out of the medical area.

Jack wrapped his arms around Ianto’s waist as he leaned against the edge of the autopsy bay bench. They knew that they were taking a brief respite from the chaos that had descended on them in the past week. Although they were all too aware that they couldn’t afford to spend too much time just holding each other, they also realised that the reassurance it provided would give them the strength to keep going. 

Jack pulled Ianto in for a kiss, one that didn’t leave any doubts about his feelings. This time there was no sorrow there; tiredness yes, but also overwhelming relief that Ianto was going to live, that he hadn’t lost him yet.

“Jack?” Gwen called out urgently.

“You’d best go see what she wants,” Ianto sighed as he rested his head briefly on Jack’s chest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time he reached the main area of the Hub, Gwen had readied a series of clips from the CCTV feeds telling the story of what had transpired. 

The first clip showed Owen running from the armoury with his hands full of handguns. The next few showed the events that had followed once Jack had returned to the Hub with Copley and Gates. Jack winced as he saw himself get shot in the back by Gates and berated himself for being so bloody stupid. Then, whilst he was lying dead on the floor, he saw Gates gather up the case he’d been carrying and then, after making a short phone call, moving to the lift and activating the button to take him out of the Hub. He noted that Gates hadn’t bothered to check on Copley’s body, seeming not to care what state he was in.

“He just left – why didn’t he try to get into any other parts of the Hub?” Gwen asked Jack, confused. “You and Ianto were both out cold. There was nothing stopping him. So he must have got what he came for. Just what did he take from the armoury?”

“I’ll wait till Owen gets back, then I’ll tell all of you at the same time.” Jack’s jaw was clenched. Not only did the images confirm what he suspected of Gates, it also showed him just who had left the armoury open.


	42. Chapter 42

By the time Owen got back to the Hub, everyone seemed busily engaged in a range of tasks. Ianto was helping Tosh to check for evidence of any security breaches. Gwen was checking methodically through all CCTV footage from the surrounding area, freezing any images of Gates, trying her best to track his movements. Owen could tell the atmosphere was tense, he could cut it with a knife. Tosh and Ianto were mumbling instructions to each other, relying on reading each other’s intentions rather than risking speaking out loud. Jack was pacing, his face screwed up in a scowl that looked particularly vengeful.

“Thanks for coming back to pick me up. I ended up getting a fucking taxi – charged it to Torchwood. OK, Jack?”

There appeared to be singe marks on the back of Owen’s jacket and his hair seemed charred at the ends.

Owen saw the warning looks that Tosh and Gwen were shooting at him, but didn’t have a chance to ask questions as Jack barrelled into him.

“Where the hell did you get to? What did you think you were doing leaving the Hub?”

“My intention was to save your fucking arse! You ungrateful shit!”

“Yeah? Well next time you decide to grab a few guns outta the armoury, remember to lock the fucking door behind you!!” Jack had grabbed hold of the front of Owen’s jacket and had virtually dragged him off his feet.

“Jack – stop it!” yelled Gwen.

“Jack! Let him go!” Ianto felt a need to stand up for Owen, he owed him his life. “He saved Gwen and Tosh – just think, if he’d stopped to lock the armoury, he may have got there too late!”

“Ianto’s right, Jack.” Tosh had grabbed hold of Jack’s sleeve. “Owen saved our lives. There were only moments left before the gas was released. If he’d been any later we would have died!”

“Just what the fuck is your problem, Jack?” demanded Gwen.

“What’s my problem? You have no idea what Gates has got away with have you?”

The words were almost spat in Gwen’s face, but she didn’t back off, she stood her ground.

“No we don’t bloody know, because you haven’t fucking told us. As usual you rant and shout at us like we’re bloody kids-”

“You are – you’re just children really compared with what’s out there! You have no idea what you’re gonna have to face and I can’t help you survive if you just let some damn crazy scientist just walk out of here with whatever he fancies out of my armoury!”

Ianto moved towards Jack slowly and carefully prised his fists from Owen’s jacket.

“Jack, we don’t know because you haven’t told us. You have to talk to us. Just what the hell was it? What did Gates take?”

Jack let Ianto move between him and Owen, but didn’t stop glaring at the doctor. He laughed harshly without humour.

“Gates got away with the makings of a weapon that can change the future of this entire damn planet.”

“So we need to find him.” Ianto was desperate to get through to Jack, persuade him to have faith in his team. “We can do that. It’s what we’re good at – yes?”

“Yes,” conceded Jack. “And I need everyone onto it now – nobody rests till we find that bastard!”

Jack slammed his fist against the nearest desk to reinforce his authority.

“Screw you, Jack.” Gwen had moved closer to Jack, she’d kept her opinions to herself for long enough, she had to make him see sense. “What we need to do is to stop and have a break-”

“Didn’t you hear me, Gwen?” Jack was verging on hysteria. “We don’t have that luxury!”

“Bollocks! Look around you, Jack!” Gwen responded sharply. She gestured at the rest of the team circled around them. “Owen screwed up because he’s been working around the bloody clock all fucking week – and before you have another go at him remember that his work and Tosh’s saved Ianto’s life! You owe them!”

Jack began to look remorseful.

“And whilst we’re talking about Ianto – take a good look at him. He’s beyond exhausted. He looks ready to drop. I hate to think when he last ate a proper meal. He may no longer be infected by that virus, but he’s not fully recovered yet. Were you expecting him to start pulling eighteen hour days again already?”

Ianto sheepishly looked at the floor. He knew for a fact that if Jack asked him to work all night he would have done. But he also acknowledged the truth in what Gwen had to say, he was shattered.

“No! Of course not-” Jack protested.

“And as for you – you may not need sleep, Jack Harkness, but you’re losing it. You’re taking out your frustrations on all of us. You’re pushing us too bloody hard.”

“Gwen-”

“No – you listen to me! In just one week, members of your team have been attacked, kidnapped, drugged and almost killed. We’ve uncovered a plot to develop an incurable virus – which has since been destroyed and the appropriate government departments given the information they need to develop vaccines. We’ve shut down the lab where they were working on it and eliminated one of the men behind it. Ianto and Tosh have discovered a link between Torchwood One and the Pharm. Something you had no idea about earlier. We’ve found out that there are survivors of Canary Wharf that no-one knew about, that are setting up their own corrupt version of Torchwood - and somehow we’re all still here! Isn’t that enough for you? Just what the fuck do you want from us, Jack?”

As Gwen listed their achievements and perils over the past seven days, Jack felt sick to his stomach. He should be proud of his team and grateful they were all still standing, not pushing them even harder.

“I know, Gwen, you’re right. It’s just that what started off with one dead weevil has opened a can of worms that we have to deal with -”

“This time last week, we didn’t even know that it existed Jack.” Tosh interrupted.

“Tosh has a point.” Ianto stated calmly, hoping to defuse the situation. “And let’s face it, Jack, even if Owen hadn’t left the armoury unlocked, Gates could have got in.”

“Yeah, I guess he could have. Once he’d shot me, there wasn’t much stopping him from getting into the armoury. If he had a disruptor rifle, he’d have had the means to blow the door open if he had to.”

“Exactly,” Ianto sighed, grateful that Jack had figured it out himself. “Gwen’s right, there’s no point in recriminations. We did our best. And the threat from the virus has been eliminated.”

Jack had been deflated by Gwen’s verbal assault, he stood with his shoulders slumped forward. Gwen had been knocked unconscious and almost died, but she wasn’t going to let him get away with treating his team like shit.

Tilting his head up he looked at each member of his team in turn, looking into their faces one at a time. Owen looked devastated that his actions had resulted in Gates getting his hands on the weaponry that Jack seemed so upset to have lost. Tosh was evidently frazzled, there were bags under her eyes, her hair was neglected and she was almost in tears. Ianto seemed to be having trouble staying on his feet, he was holding onto the back of a chair, his knuckles white and his face grim, no doubt hiding some pain that he’d dismiss as a ‘twinge’.

“I’m sorry – it’s just been a long week I guess. Does everyone feel the same as Gwen?” He could see them all nod their heads and murmur in assent.

“OK – let’s call it a day here for now. Make sure you have the new codes to get in - Tosh has established the new security protocols. We’ll have a debriefing and a council of war tomorrow. Then I promise you I am not leaving a stone unturned until I find Gates. Is that acceptable?”

“That sounds like a good plan. If it’s OK with you, I’ll head off now.” Gwen smiled at Jack. “It’s one week since I got married and I intend to spend the night with my husband, at home!”

“Sure – see you tomorrow?”

Gwen pulled Jack into a close hug and gave him a kiss on the cheek before turning and leaving the Hub.

Tosh and Owen had wandered off towards the autopsy bay, trying to discreetly leave Jack with Ianto.

“Ianto?”

“You made me a promise. I’m going to get my coat. I’ll wait for you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ianto was glad of the clothing that Tosh had fetched him from his home. Although she hadn’t actually packed any outdoor wear for him, there was a warm sweater; she knew how cold it could get in the Hub. As he walked out of the Tourist Information Office and closed the door behind him he noticed a sign hanging in the window: ‘CLOSED DUE TO ILL-HEALTH’. He recognised Tosh’s handwriting and smiled, appreciative of the subtle ways in which she cared for him.

He hadn’t passed Jack as he left and he thought maybe he’d find him outside, his coat billowing in the breeze. But there was no sign of him. Ianto sighed, it was colder than he thought it would be, but the air smelt good, clean with a hint of rain and sea. He leant against the shabby exterior wall of the Tourist Office and slid down until he was sitting on the ground, his arms resting on his thighs, his knees drawn up close to his body. He hurt, it seemed as if every bone in his body ached, which wasn’t surprising as he’d fallen quite heavily down the stairs only a few hours earlier. He closed his eyes and lifted his face to the sky, not caring that there were rain drops hitting his nose and eyelids. The rain was soft and the wet splashes were gentle on his skin.

“You’ll catch your death sitting in the rain.”

“After the week I’ve just had I suppose it would be ironic if I died as a result of the weather. Anyway, I’m Welsh – we’re immune to rain.”

“C’mon – if you were a cat you’ve just worked your way through about half of your nine lives in the space of that week. That’s an unacceptably high rate.”

Jack’s tone was deadly serious as he held out a hand for Ianto, only to find himself tugged downwards until he was sitting on the ground next to Ianto.

“Shut up and kiss me. You’re in a foul, tense mood and I don’t want to talk to you until you’ve stopped sulking.”

“And you think a kiss will do that?”

“It usually leads on to something that does take your mind off the crap this job throws at you.”

Jack wasn’t given the opportunity to argue any further as Ianto cupped his head and drew him closer, not in the least bit bothered that they were sitting outdoors, in the pouring rain. Pressing his mouth to Jack’s he wasted no time on gentle teasing, he took advantage of the fact that the other man’s mouth had been open – about to speak, and pushed his tongue in until he felt Jack respond. Their lips sealed tight, they abandoned all conscious thought and became totally absorbed in the taste of each other and the sensation of tongue against tongue, warm and wet. Jack’s hands wormed their way under the edge of Ianto’s sweater and Ianto slid his inside Jack’s coat, both of them needing to touch skin, not clothing.

“You had enough fresh air yet?” Jack asked breathlessly.

“Nope – I’ve been cooped up indoors all bloody week, Jack. Hotel rooms. Creepy farmhouse rooms. Your office… I need to see the sky.”

“I was going to bring you outside eventually. Really.”

“Yep, I know. I just figured that you’d got distracted.”

“You think all the promises I make in bed are hollow?”

“I think you make them with the best intentions,” mumbled Ianto. “It’s just that what we both do gets in the way.”

“Gwen made it quite clear back there that we all need a night off. Me too. I hate to admit it – but she’s right. Owen’s not the only one who screwed up. If anything I screwed up more.”

“You should tell him that.”

“Yeah – I know,” admitted Jack reluctantly. “By the way I packed up your stuff for you.”

Jack stood up and waved his hand in the direction of Ianto’s holdall that had been placed on the bench. Ianto’s heart sunk slightly. It seemed that Jack intended to give him a lift home and then do whatever it was that he did on his own.

Ianto wearily got to his feet and followed Jack, who had hefted the holdall onto his shoulder, evidently containing everything that Tosh had brought over for him. Silently, they walked towards the Plas. Ianto shook his head with dismay when he saw where Jack had ‘parked’ the SUV. But the thought of dealing with yet more parking fines was the least of his concerns. Although he’d been frustrated at being cooped up in the Hub, he didn’t want to go home alone. He almost wished he’d stayed put in the Hub.


	43. Chapter 43

Jack was pleased to see that Ianto had dropped off to sleep in the SUV. He’d deliberately turned up the heating and switched on the heated front seat in the hope that it would help. Although he’d caught the disappointed look on Ianto’s face, he didn’t want to let him know yet exactly what he had in mind. Jack wanted to make sure they were well on their way before he realised. 

Apart from anything else, Jack also needed to calm down. The last thing he wanted to do was to take out either his annoyance with Gwen or his loathing of Gates on Ianto. It was time for him to take a few hours for Ianto. For them. 

Taking a bend in the road faster than advisable, Jack had to brake sharply to avoid going into the back of a tractor. The tightening of the seat belt across Ianto's chest and the string of expletives from Jack was enough to wake him up. He blinked rapidly and then shook his head as he peered out of the window, taking in the change in scenery.

“Um, Jack? Have I been relocated and not told about it? If not, then this is a route home I haven’t yet tried.”

“No. I’m taking you to see something,” Jack smiled enigmatically. “We’re not far now.”

“Good. Because, although it’s been a while since I’ve been home, I definitely don’t remember the fields and trees. Or the sheep for that matter.”

“We’re in the Black Mountains.” 

Jack decided not to mention that they were very close to the Brecon Beacons.

“That’s a big area – any more clues you’re willing to share?”

“Our destination is a village about three miles out of Crickhowell.”

“I suppose I should be glad you’re not taking me on a day trip to Abergavenny. I would have had to kill you if you did.” Ianto frowned. He didn’t recall any conversation about leaving Cardiff. “And for the record it should be pronounced Crug Hywel. It means table mountain, after the flat-topped mountain -”

“Are you trying to demonstrate that you know everything or do you just spend too much time in that damn tourist office?” Jack chuckled. “I bet you’ve read all the brochures, haven’t you?”

“The answers to all of those questions would be yes.” Ianto smiled back at Jack. “Which village?”

“This one.” Jack pointed at the road sign. He did not want to risk mispronouncing the name of the place in front of Ianto.

As Jack carefully manoeuvred the SUV across the arched stone bridge that crossed the River Usk, Ianto read out the name of the village.

“Llangynidr.”

Jack nodded and kept going until he reached the small church. He pulled up on the grass, trying not to block the narrow road with the enormous SUV.

“You’ve brought me to church? I’m pretty sure there are some in Cardiff.” 

Jack couldn’t help but smile and shake his head.

“Not quite. It has to be this church.” Jack unbuckled his seat belt and reached out to squeeze Ianto’s knee. “This is where I came last week. After Gwen’s wedding. There’s something I want you to see.”

Ianto looked puzzled and Jack’s reserved behaviour did nothing to enlighten him. He got out of the SUV and caught up with Jack as he lifted the latch on an old, partly decayed wooden gate that was set in the wall that skirted the churchyard. 

The path they took was narrow, so Ianto followed Jack, stepping gingerly around the puddles that had collected in the pot-holed surface. The pathway was edged with old, worn headstones, tilted at alarming angles as if being pulled by the force of gravity to bow their heads. Jack led the way towards the far corner of the churchyard. There, under an ancient, gnarled yew tree, was a single grave, recently visited by the looks of the flowers in the vase. There were deep red roses, their blooms overblown and rain-soaked, and lilies, still white and crisp against the dark green fern leaves. Petals from both had been dashed from the flowers onto the grave, red splashes like blood and large white teardrops. 

Coming to a halt, under the canopy of the yew tree, Jack reached out for Ianto who was standing back, intending to give Jack the space he thought he needed. They stood together, Jack’s arm around Ianto’s shoulders as they looked down at the gravestone. It was made of dark slate, intricately carved with intertwining leaves and flowers that framed the inscription, which bore the name of Emily Harkness, described as the widow of Captain J. Harkness of Cardiff. The rain dripping from the yew tree branches made the stone gleam in the failing light. 

“After Gwen’s wedding, after I left the hotel,” Jack swallowed as he felt Ianto flinch at the memory. He paused and pulled Ianto even closer to him. “First of all I returned to the Hub. There was a photograph I needed to look at again. You see, my conscience was giving me hell for not thinking of Emily in a while. Watching Gwen get married didn’t just make me maudlin. And it wasn’t all about Gwen – you have to know that. No, seeing Gwen get married prompted me to come out here and pay my respects to my wife.”

“You told me, when we were out on the marshes, that you’d led her to believe you’d died.” Ianto had slipped an arm inside Jack’s coat, wrapping around the older man’s waist, so that he had the benefit from the warmth and shelter it offered.

“Yes, I arranged for her to be told I was dead. Lost at sea. I thought that way she could start over – have another chance of happiness,” Jack took a deep breath and held back a sob that nearly stopped him from speaking. “But she never did remarry.”

“You’re a hard act to follow,” Ianto said softly.

“Really?” Jack tilted up Ianto’s head so that he could read the expression on his face. He wondered if Ianto would find someone else. 

“I don’t think that the option of whether or not to replace you is going to be on the agenda for me,” Ianto said ruefully. “Either I’ll die on the job sometime in the next ten years. Or- if I survive Torchwood - you’ll leave me for a younger model. Don’t lie, please. I know your libido and your type.”

“Not sure if I could face losing you to either of those options, Ianto.” Jack let the tear slide down his face unhindered. It could just as easily have been an errant rain drop, but for the fact he could feel its warmth as it traversed his cheek. 

Jack knew then, at that moment as they stood together next to the grave of a woman who had never known the truth about him, that he’d find it much harder to say goodbye to this man than any of his previous lovers. Because Ianto did know him and accepted him for that involved. 

“You mean that don’t you?” Sniffing slightly, as the cold air made his nose run, Ianto looked as if he was about to tear up.

“Yes, of course I do. This past week has forced me to face the fact that I really don’t want to lose you any time soon.” 

“You’re not proposing are you?” Ianto raised an eyebrow trying to lift Jack’s mood. “Because I’m not sure I’d survive another Torchwood wedding.”

“No.” Jack grinned at the images that suggestion invoked. He knew that he didn’t need to follow conventions or make things legal to show Ianto how he felt. “After all, I reckon that ‘Till death us do part’ oath is tempting fate in our line of work, don’t you think?”

“Well, maybe not for you,” responded Ianto. “But it is for the rest of us. And as for ‘happily ever after’-”

“Yeah – guaranteed to bring disaster. But, you know what, ‘honour and obey’, I could certainly do with more of that.” Jack waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“Jack!” spluttered Ianto. “You know that I’d do anything-” 

“I know,” Jack cut Ianto off, suddenly sobering up. “You showed me that today and it scares me to death. Especially knowing what I’m going to have to ask you to do.” 

Jack frowned, he really didn’t want to think of Torchwood. Not in the light of what he knew he was going to have to ask of Ianto. That would wait one more day. 

“Are we OK, Jack?” Ianto had seen the scowl and was worried that he’d inadvertently upset Jack.

“Oh yes, we’re good.” Jack kissed him softly on the lips, tasting the rain that ran down his face.

“Ah well, I suppose we’d better be getting back to Cardiff now.” Ianto looked up at the sky that was becoming darker all the time. He wished he could stay enfolded in Jack’s coat for a little while longer, but he knew that they should be on their way. “It’s probably a good hour’s drive, even with you behind the wheel.” 

“We could do,” Jack nodded his head and smiling. “Or, it would take less time to drive to the hotel in Crickhowell where I’ve booked us a room for the night.”

“What about the Hub?” asked Ianto. He couldn’t’ believe that Jack would actually leave Cardiff overnight. “Somebody needs to be there to monitor the rift. We’ve been lucky it’s been quiet since Nostrovite-night.”

“Don’t worry about that. It’s taken care of. Owen was feeling bad about the armoury door-” 

“So you took advantage-”

“Hey – if I am being forced into taking a break by my second-in-command, I may as well make the most of the opportunity.” Jack defended himself quickly. “I owed you an explanation about where I was last week, when you needed me. I also still need to make up for the fact that I haven’t treated you as well as I should have recently. My negligence almost got you killed. So I’d like to treat you, Ianto.”

Unsaid was the fact that Jack wanted to show Ianto just how much he meant to him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was twilight as they arrived at ‘The Dragon Hotel’. The setting sun had finally broken through the clouds and the low rays hit the whitewashed building, making it gleam against the dark green trees that surrounded it. 

The hotel, situated at the base of the mountain that gave Crickhowell its name, was perfectly situated amidst the lush green valley, nestled within the dramatic backdrop of bracken covered slopes lit to a glowing red by the setting sun. 

Jack stole a glance at Ianto and was pleased to see that the place met his immediate approval. This was the Wales that his companion loved and he wanted to share that with him, that sense of belonging. 

‘The Dragon’ was a very different hotel than the one they’d stayed at in Llanrhiddian and for that both men were more grateful than they were prepared to admit. Jack had booked in advance before leaving the Hub earlier that evening, pleased that there were still rooms available. Despite his annoyance at Gwen’s questioning of his authority, he’d been prompted by Tosh to go after Ianto and treat him well. Somehow the idea of taking him for a walk around the Bay and then back to where he lived didn’t seem to be quite enough to make up for the crap he’d suffered in the past week. Hell, he deserved more than that just to make up for the way Jack had behaved at Gwen’s wedding. 

“Why here, Jack?” 

“The truth? I saw this in one of the brochures in your office and it looked like somewhere I thought you’d like.” 

“Well, it is, except it costs a bloody fortune to stay here – I only recommend it to the wealthier looking tourists. You know, the ones that I suspect are really aliens.” 

“Sure you don’t mean Americans?” teased Jack.

“Maybe. I mean they may sound American, but so do you. And why on earth would they be visiting the shabbiest looking tourist office in the whole of Cardiff? I’m surprised the Mermaid Quay authorities haven’t shut us down.” 

“I haven’t a clue.” Jack shook his head. “However, we are staying here – my treat.”


	44. Chapter 44

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter of Magwitch, re-written in places to make it less clumsy and hopefully to have the characters behaving more like themselves. There are intimate scenes in this chapter - nothing too graphic - but they are the climax to this chapter and to this story. 
> 
> Thanks for all the kudos and comments - all much appreciated.

Unusually for Jack, he wasted no time flirting with the front desk staff. He just confirmed his reservation and took the keys as quickly as he could. It occurred to Ianto that perhaps Jack was just doing this for him and that he’d rather be back at the Hub pursuing Gates. He sighed softly and fell in behind Jack as he purposefully walked towards the sweeping staircase.

Ianto’s spirits rose as Jack flung open the door of their room. It was dominated by a huge four-poster bed, of dark oak, with a white coverlet and burgundy red cushions. The posts were thick and intricately carved, as was the ornate headboard. Ianto smiled at Jack – the room was just right, sensuous, yet masculine and not a frilly pillow in sight. After the honeymoon suite they’d been forced to occupy before, this room was perfect. Although there were two oak armchairs placed either side of a wooden side table, both men automatically headed for the bed and sat on the edge, looking at each other expectantly.

The comfortable silence was broken by a loud sneeze.

“I told you you’d catch your death going outside dressed like that.”

“It’s just a sneeze,” protested Ianto. “I’m feeling much better. Really-”

Jack grabbed hold of Ianto and pulled him close.

“Don’t even start evading the truth. You’re wet through and I am so sure that’s gonna make those bruises feel so much better.”

“You could always take my mind off them-” Ianto shrugged playfully.

“Much as I’d love to take you - on this bed- right now and let you know just how pleased I am that you’re not dying, I’m actually going to look after you for a change,” Jack asserted with more passion in his voice than Ianto had heard in a while. “First thing is to get you naked and in a hot bath. Then maybe a massage and then something to eat.”

“Ooh… a hot bath and food,” sighed Ianto. “You know what? That actually sounds more appealing than sex right now. Bloody hell, does that means I’m still sick?”

“You want me to call Owen?” Jack offered, frowning as he held the back of his hand to Ianto’s forehead.

“Definitely not. I may not feel up to much, but I don’t need a doctor. I definitely don’t want to invite Owen to join us. However, I am really hungry.” It almost came as a shock to Ianto as his stomach rumbled loudly.

The effects of the adrenaline that had kept him going through the events of the day had finally worn off. Ianto felt both tired and famished.

“Why don’t you run yourself a bath and I’ll sort out the food situation?” suggested Jack as he got up from the bed and wandered across to the desk, where the phone sat next to the room service menu.

“Sounds like a plan,” agreed Ianto. “Join me after you’ve ordered the food?”

“Sure. But not until I’ve ordered room service. If I don’t feed you properly, Gwen will kill me. Any preferences?”

“Whatever’s going to get here quickest.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The bath water had gone tepid and all the froth from the bubble bath had long since sunk without trace. Ianto sighed, knowing he’d have to get out of the lukewarm water. He thought that Jack was going to join him, but he hadn’t seen him since he’d put his head round the door before Ianto had finished filling the tub with water, saying he had to go make a call to Owen and that he wouldn’t be long. Ianto could only speculate what that call had been about. Perhaps there’d been a swarm of weevils to deal with and Jack had gone back to Cardiff? Maybe he’d find a note on the bed? He really hoped it wouldn’t be a repeat of what had happened after Gwen’s wedding.

Ianto got out of the bath and wrapped a large towel about his waist and, after rubbing his hair to get rid of the excess water, draped another around his shoulders. Moving into the bedroom, he was relieved and surprised to see Jack sitting in one of the armchairs next to the wooden occasional table. He’d kicked off his boots, thrown his coat over the other chair and had rolled up his shirtsleeves. The signs that all was not well were obvious to Ianto: the way Jack’s hands gripped the arms of the chair, the frown that creased his forehead and the set of his jaw.

In a tray on the table there was a plate of sandwiches, a bowl of apparently cold chips and a jug of orange juice.

“Chef’s gone home,” Jack explained briefly. “All I could get were sandwiches. Sorry.”

“Everything alright with Owen?” Ianto moved the coat from the chair and put it on the bed so that he could sit opposite Jack. He helped himself to a sandwich, it didn’t look particularly appealing, but he was still hungry.

“Yeah. He said your blood sample showed significant reduction in viral load. Looks like you’re going to be OK.”

“I see – and what else has he found out?”

Ianto was worried. He couldn’t help but think something was wrong. He wondered what Owen had discovered. As Jack wouldn’t look him in the eye he focused on his sandwich, taking the filling from inside the dry bread and nibbling on it. Jack’s sudden mood swing had taken the edge off his appetite.

“Nothing. Really. The treatment worked.” Jack tried to smile, yet failed miserably. “You should eat- go on.”

“If the treatment has worked, what is wrong?” Ianto put his half eaten sandwich back on the plate.

“Nothing.”

“Bollocks,” blurted Ianto. “You’re brooding.”

“No I’m not –”

“Liar!” Ianto threw back, irritated with Jack.

Then it dawned on Ianto. Jack brooded when he felt guilty. No doubt he was blaming himself for everything that had happened in the past week.

“It wasn’t your fault, Jack. You’re not to blame-”

“Yes, it was my fault!” Jack yelled vehemently.

Ianto smiled humourlessly as he witnessed the metaphorical cork fly out of the bottle filled to the brim with Jack’s guilt.

“I was careless. I dropped my guard. I wasn’t around.” Jack listed his failings as if they were the worst of crimes possible. “If I had have been there-”

“The weevils were dumped where Torchwood would have found them. Gates and Copley targeted us,” reasoned Ianto. “One way or another, they would have got what they wanted. There was nothing you could have done-”

“I nearly got you killed!” Jack met Ianto’s eyes at last and the look of anguish was unmistakable.

“You didn’t!” Ianto leapt to his feet.

“No! Ianto –”

“Shut up –” Ianto pulled Jack out of the chair and kissed him hard on the mouth.

“You’re hurt –”

“Bruised. For a change. So what?”

“I’ll make it worse-”

“I doubt it.” Ianto shook his head. “Have you ever stopped to consider that I might actually know what I want? I am not a child, Jack. I want you to stop beating yourself up over this. I want you to live for the present- even if it is only for one night. You said you wanted to make up to me for the way you’ve been behaving. Was that true?”

“Of course it was!” exclaimed Jack.

“Then why don’t you take me to bed?” Ianto had grabbed hold of the shirt that Jack was wearing and had it bunched up in his fists. “Now.”

Jack didn’t answer with words, they were all spent. He roughly tugged the towel free from Ianto’s waist, before walking him backwards towards the bed. As Ianto fell back, onto the soft mattress, Jack held him in place between his thighs. Pulling off his layers of shirts and throwing them to the floor, Jack collapsed onto Ianto’s chest. Holding Ianto’s arms above his head, they crushed their mouths together in what could only be described as a bruising kiss.

Breaking off for air, Jack rolled to one side, shedding his trousers fast, practice over the decades having allowed him to perfect that manoeuvre such that he appeared to have simply slid out of them. He also managed to extricate a sachet tucked into a pocket, pushed further and further down as he’d given up on getting the chance to use it.

“I hope you know what you were asking for,” Jack growled softly as he leaned in to gently bite at the soft skin about Ianto’s neck.

The only answer Jack got was a nod and a hand clutching his arse to pull his hips closer. That was all it took for both men to let go of their pent up emotions, hands everywhere, mouths, lips and tongues competing for dominance. The sensations of skin on skin were too much for Jack. A week ago, in another hotel room, he’d taken Ianto without giving his lover a chance to participate, and since then Ianto had continued to be very much a passive partner, injuries and sickness keeping his passion suppressed.

But this time Ianto’s sheer desperation to get Jack to snap out of his guilty brooding was enough to overcome his physical weariness. Jack loved it when Ianto fought back in bed, an equal to push against, whose surrender was never easily given, but something to be won. They rolled over one another, struggling for domination, their bodies slick with sweat and aroused beyond tolerance.

Angry sex for Jack never lasted long, and when Ianto was also riled it made it all the more intense. Ianto’s eyes were shut tight, but his mouth gaped wide, his lips red and slightly swollen from the frantic kisses. He gasped out loud as Jack pressed two, lube-slicked fingers into him, a compromise between urgency and a need to provide some preparation.

Ianto could feel every inch as Jack steadily pushed into him, his thighs pushed apart and legs lifted allowing Jack to thrust in hard and fast. Ianto wrapped his arms and legs about Jack’s body, pulling him as close as humanly possible. When Jack came abruptly inside him, Ianto held on tightly until Jack stopped shaking. The release of his orgasm took with it the vestiges of his anger, as if a safety valve had been opened. Panting for breath he fell heavily onto Ianto’s sweating body, resting his head on his partner’s chest, listening to his heart beating strongly within.

They lay there for a while, not speaking, just breathing in each other’s scent. The air between them had cleared and Ianto knew better than to break the spell. Sprawled out naked, warm and sweating on the sumptuous double bed, Ianto just smiled as Jack stroked his body gently, kissing the bruises one by one.

“How much are you hurting?” Jack realised he’d not stopped to take into account the fact that Ianto was injured from his fall. There were dark purple bruises on his shoulders and hips, and the red flushed skin on his right arm bore witness to the close miss that he’d survived earlier that day.

“Not too much to return the favour.” Ianto grinned as he raised an eyebrow lasciviously.

“Oh yeah?”

Despite any reservations Jack may have had concerning Ianto’s state of health, his bruising and the slight anaemia he was still suffering, he wanted Ianto to take him. He desperately wanted to be shoved face first into the mattress while Ianto took him hard and fast. Just thinking of it had his heart beating faster.

“Oh yes. It’s been over a week since I’ve taken you, Jack. And I want you so badly.” Ianto whispered into Jack’s ear. Those vowels that Jack loved were so much more seductive when enunciated in husky tones and accompanied by warm breath caressing his neck.

Ianto’s hands drifted down, his fingertips skimming Jack’s hips before trailing over Jack’s already recovering cock.

“And it feels to me that you’d like that.”

“You have no idea how much that appeals to me. I want you to take me, Ianto – as hard and fast as you can manage-”

“I’ve got something else in mind. We’ve done fast. Now I get to take you slowly. Roll over for me.”

As Jack rolled onto his stomach, Ianto gently slapped his backside. Jack needed someone else to take the responsibility away from him and he loved it when Ianto took control. There weren’t many people he’d ever been able to place his complete and total trust in, but Ianto was one of them. As he wriggled on the bed, he felt a tingle as Ianto kissed his shoulders, before working his way down his spine.

Ianto leaned over Jack, stroking and kissing the expanse of his back, muscles toned to perfection beneath an unblemished skin that seemed to be almost golden in the light of the room. He always felt almost in awe of Jack’s physique, the man was quite beautiful and he adored any opportunity to admire his body.

Jack felt his muscles relax, the tension draining from him as Ianto’s hands and lips took it in turns to caress and kiss their way along his spine and into the small of his back. He allowed his mind to shut down to all but the sensations of elation that flooded his senses. Then Ianto’s hands moved more purposefully and with greater strength as they lifted him off the bed just enough to tuck a pillow under his hips, raising his buttocks that were kneaded and then grasped powerfully.

It was at that point that Jack lost the ability to process exactly what Ianto was doing, as he felt lips and tongue toying with him: warm breath, wetness and a gentle penetration that sent waves of pleasure up through his body to his barely functioning brain.

Jack was roused to awareness as Ianto penetrated him, feeling a brief, but exquisite pain. He could feel an arm snaked around his waist holding him firmly to his lover’s body as Ianto steadied himself. The sounds of Ianto breathing heavily above him, the drips of sweat that fell on his back, all made him wish he could see his lover, and a glance to one side into the mirrored wardrobe doors gave him cause to moan out loud.

In the mirror, Jack could see Ianto pulling out slowly before pushing back into his receptive body, concentrating so hard on hitting the right spot that he was biting his lower lip. As Jack moaned softly, Ianto also caught sight of the erotic image and their eyes met in the reflection, both men grinned broadly. Their eyes darkened, pupils dilated, consumed by lust and desire.

Jack barely had time to lick his lips as he saw Ianto take his arousal in hand and begin to slowly stroke it, his pace increasing as did the speed with which he plunged into Jack’s body. No longer able to focus, Jack screamed out for more as his earlier fantasy was fulfilled, his face pressed into the mattress as his lover started to pound into him mercilessly. Jack wrapped his hand about Ianto’s, desperate to come and just as Ianto felt him approaching his climax, he pushed in as deeply as he could, feeling Jack’s muscles squeezing him tight, triggering his own orgasm.

Falling into a heap of non-responding, sweaty limbs, Ianto collapsed on top of Jack. Using the last of his strength to roll both of them onto their backs, Jack allowed himself to relax, blissfully content, all negative thoughts currently banished from his mind.

“Oh shit… that was-” Ianto muttered, breathing the words out.

“Intense? Fuck yes… it was...” agreed Jack, equally incoherent.

Neither man could piece together a complete sentence, both breathless in that euphoric state that follows particularly good sex.

They lay in each other’s arms until Ianto started to shiver, which roused Jack enough to urge him to sit up and get under the down duvet. Both men crawled into the white cocoon and curled around one another, unwilling to break contact.

“Jack? You are going to be here when I wake up, aren’t you?” Ianto was thinking back to the previous weekend when he’d woken alone in a hotel bed, abandoned by Jack.

“Trust me, you’ll have no doubts where I am when you open your eyes.”

Ianto was exhausted and it didn’t surprise Jack when he began to softly snore.

“I’m not going anywhere tonight. I’m right where I belong.” Jack whispered, as he pressed a gentle kiss to the head of his sleeping lover.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

TO BE CONTINUED IN **QUEEN TAKES KNIGHT’S PAWN**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there is sufficient demand, I'll start work on re-editing the next part - Queen takes Knight's Pawn. 
> 
> In that part, there is yet more Ianto whumping, guilt-struck Jack, snarky Owen as well as the Brecon Beacons, caves and waterfalls. Let me know.


End file.
